


Spaghetti Girl

by 22_Ti



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Coming Out, Confusion, Enemies to Lovers, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:00:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23049706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22_Ti/pseuds/22_Ti
Summary: Stacie tries to buy a sexy blonde a drink at the club. There’s only one problem, Aubrey isn’t interested because she’s not gay. Right?
Relationships: Bechloe if you squint, Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell, Stacie Conrad & Aubrey Posen, Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen, Staubrey
Comments: 80
Kudos: 191





	1. I’m Flattered But Straight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shortstack_posen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shortstack_posen/gifts).



“Do you seriously need an escort?”

“Not an escort, Aubrey. A sidekick. At least, that’s what I’d prefer to think of you as.”

The blonde lifted one perfectly plucked eyebrow in near disdain. “You know how I feel about _those_ kinds of bars, Chloe.”

Chloe gave a humpft as she crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl plastered across her face. “And what kind of bars are _those_ exactly?” She didn’t frown often, but when she did, it was intense. “My kind of bars? I can’t believe you, Aubrey. I go out with you all the time.”

“That’s... different.” Aubrey narrowed her eyes as she knew her best friend probably had a point.

“Or are you still stuck on the ‘abnormal nature of my chosen lifestyle’?” The redhead’s voice was cutting and snippy. When she’d first come out to her best friend, Aubrey had not spoken to her for weeks. She knew her friend was past that, but the redhead’s feelings were hurt, and she was lashing out.

Aubrey’s facial features softened as she placed her hand on Chloe’s arm. “You know I don’t feel that way anymore, Chlo. That was a long time ago, and you just… caught me off guard when you told me. My upbringing was different.”

“But how one was raised doesn’t factor in with whom you’re attracted to or whom your heart chooses to love.” Chloe had spoken these words to Aubrey many times and would continue to try to get her friend to understand that her ‘lifestyle’ wasn’t a choice. “Look… will you go out with me tonight, or am I going solo?”

“Alright, I’ll go. But only until Beca gets off work.” Aubrey hugged her friend. “I’m not sure why you don’t want to wait for her before you go to the club.”

Chloe’s eyes had gone from sad to bright and excited. “You know Beca’s work schedule is sporadic. Please come with me,” she begged.

“I already said yes, you goof. I’ll be here by eight. You’re buying me dinner first.”

* * *

When Aubrey got back to her friend’s apartment, she was wearing a loose green sweater, tight jeans, and ankle boots. Her hair was loosely pulled back into a ponytail. “Cute,” Chloe chirped. “Casual yet adorable. The women will be falling over themselves,” she teased as Aubrey rolled her eyes.

“As long as they realize I’m straight.”

“All you have to do is tell them.” Chloe tugged her shoes on before standing up. “I’m starving. Let’s go.”

After a light dinner and pre-club drinks, the two friends headed out on the town. Aubrey hooked her arm through her friends. “You look nice tonight, Chloe. New outfit?” Chloe had on an almost see-through red shirt with flowing sleeves that hung over tight black leather pants. “Are those flats I see?”

“Better for dancing, my friend.”

The club was not terribly crowded when they first arrived, but people began to flow in soon after. The DJ was filling the dance floor early with some fantastic music. Chloe did not waste any time pulling her friend into the middle of the people so they could dance. The first song was more than enough to get them both sufficiently warmed up.

As the song changed, the beats became stronger. In the center of the dance floor, Aubrey stood with her back arched and hands stretched to the sky. The lights shined brightly on the mirrored ball, colored rays flicking across her skin. She allowed the rhythm to pulse into herself and started to tap her foot to the steady beat. As the drums picked up the pace, she began to let her body dance without inhibition. The blonde had forgotten how much she loved dancing. And though she would never admit it to Chloe, gay clubs had the best music.

She opened her eyes, pulled her hair from its ponytail, letting her blonde locks loose around her shoulders. She grabbed Chloe’s hands as they began to spin, laughing without abandon. “Are you glad you’re here?” Chloe’s smile was infectious. “Oooh,” she squealed before Aubrey could answer. “There’s Beca.” The redhead took off to greet her girlfriend who had gotten there surprisingly early.

Aubrey wasn’t ready to stop dancing and waved at Beca as the brunette waited for Chloe to fight her way through the crowds of people. Back in her zone now, Aubrey jiggled and shimmied, electrifying the air with her exuberance as a hundred thousand fireflies ignited the atmosphere. Her soul burned with every bob of her head, every jiggle of her shoulders, every gyration of her hips.

As the song ended, the DJ slid into a slower song to encourage people to take a breather and grab drinks. Aubrey found Chloe and Beca leaning against a bar that ran along the side of the club and took the pale, red cocktail her friend offered. “Thanks, Chlo.” After a long drink, she wiped her brow. “Hey, Beca.”

The tiny brunette nodded her head. “Thanks for keeping my girl company.”

“And now that you are here, I’m going to head out after I finish this drink.” Chloe stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “No way, Red. That won’t work. I told you I’d stay with you until Beca got here. And… here she is.” Aubrey waved her hand up and down Beca’s body.

Beca grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and spun her around. “That’s our cue to get out on the dance floor. Thanks again, Aubrey.” She pulled Chloe towards the floor as the redhead blew kisses back to her friend.

“Love you, Bree!”

The blonde laughed to herself as she nursed the rest of her drink, trying to cool off. No sooner had Aubrey finished her drink and unlocked her phone to order an Uber, the bartender set another drink in front of her. “Oh, I didn’t need another. I’m about to leave.”

The bartender dried her hands on a towel tucked into her waist and pointed to a tall brunette standing on the other side of the bar. “Compliments of the tall drink of water over there.”

Aubrey primly left the drink on the napkin and crossed her hands in front of the glass, not sure what to do. Maybe she should order her Uber and duck out before the woman came over. Would that be rude? Or would the woman expect something in exchange for her purchase? But while the decisions were circling in her brain, she felt another person invade her personal space, well almost.

She looked over to see the rangy, brunette woman who’d bought her the second vodka cranberry sitting on the barstool next to her. Aubrey drew a deep breath while collecting her thoughts. Using the back of her hand, she slid the drink over towards the woman. “I’m flattered but straight.”

The woman raised her hands in a non-threatening gesture. “Still, keep the drink. I don’t do cranberry.” She slid a matchbook over towards Aubrey, got off the barstool, and walked away.

Aubrey huffed and took a drink of the fresh cocktail for argument’s sake. “Cranberry is the best mixer,” she muttered. As she took another sip, she glanced up and saw Chloe making a beeline towards her. 

“Yay! You stayed for another drink.” Chloe ordered herself and Beca drinks before turning back to her friend. Her eyes landed on the matchbook. “Ooooh, did Aubrey get herself a number?”

“What? Huh?” The blonde was confused. Then Chloe snatched the matchbook from in front of her and opened the cover.

 _Call me, Stacie – 404-555-2012._ Chloe closed the matchbook and tucked it in Aubrey’s jeans pocket. “Pray tell, who is Stacie?”

“Nobody.” Aubrey felt her face heat up with embarrassment.

“Nobody gave you her number?”

“Yup. And nobody bought me this drink.” Aubrey drained her drink. “And somebody should not be so nosy.” She leaned over and kissed Chloe on the cheek. “Bye to the little woman, too. Wait, where is Beca?”

Chloe motioned towards the restroom. “She was headed to the little girls’ room and ran into a friend.”

Aubrey glanced over and saw Beca talking to a much taller woman. When the woman turned her head around, she locked eyes with Aubrey, and the blush began to rise on the blonde’s face again. Beca was talking to Stacie. Aubrey ducked her head down and quickly made her way out the door.

* * *

Aubrey fiddled with the matchbook, opening and closing it as her driver made his way to her apartment. She felt the irritation crawl across her skin but wasn’t sure where the ire had come from. The stranger, Stacie, hadn’t done anything wrong.

Women hitting on her was why Aubrey never liked going out to gay clubs with Chloe. She was comfortable with her own sexuality, just didn’t enjoy it when women presumed she was a lesbian only because she was in a gay club. Her fingers ran over the message and the numbers which were in block print, trying to conceive what Stacie’s occupation could possibly be. She finally settled on engineer or architect since both of those jobs required precise block lettering.

As she walked towards her complex after her driver dropped her off, Aubrey stopped at one of the metal trash cans still sitting by the street after trash collection day. She opened the matchbook and ripped out a few of the sticks. After striking them, she lit one edge of the paper cover and dropped the flaming book into the empty can. As it hit bottom, the matches flared as the rest caught flame. After Stacie’s message and number turned to ash, Aubrey placed the lid back on the can and dragged it to the side of her building.

* * *

Memorial Day meant many people had off work, so Chloe had invited Aubrey to lunch. A slow day at the studio enabled Beca to take a few hours to join them, which excited her girlfriend. Chloe arrived first with her girlfriend following quickly behind her. “Where’s Aubrey?” Beca kissed Chloe and took a seat next to her.

“There she is.” Chloe motioned towards the door. She waved a tad to get her friend’s attention. Aubrey walked over and gave each of her friends a short hug before taking her seat on the other side of Chloe.

The trio of friends chatted as they ordered and waited for their food. Suddenly Beca stood and started motioning for someone. She wiped her mouth before speaking. “Chlo, remember I told you about my friend I ran into at the club? She’s here.” Chloe turned in her chair to see who Beca was beckoning over. “Mind if she joins us?”

The woman walked up to the table and bent down to hug Beca. Next to Chloe, Aubrey stiffened. “Chloe, this is Stacie. Stacie, Chloe is my girlfriend and her friend, Aubrey.”

By now, Chloe had sensed her friend’s discomfort. “Nice to meet you, Stacie. Stacie? Ohhhhh, Stacie.” Aubrey dug her elbow into the redhead’s ribs as she grimaced and nodded a greeting.

“Ladies, nice to meet you. Chloe, Beca has told me so much about you.”

Beca’s girlfriend was a natural, bubbly woman who was beyond friendly. “Any friend of Beca’s is a friend of mine. Have a seat, Stacie.” She cut her eyes sideways to check on Aubrey, who was sitting a little more upright, back a bit more ridged than usual as the tall brunette took the last seat at the table.

Beca’s friend was quite the charmer and showered her attention on Chloe, asking her a slew of questions about where she grew up, how she’d met Beca, what she did for a living, etc. Never did Stacie’s inquiries turn to Aubrey, who was far too polite to show her discomfort or displeasure in being left out.

Stacie’s questioning continued, and Aubrey could not believe that Stacie was ignoring her. She didn’t know whether to be offended or flat out angry. Without meaning to be self-evident, she crossed her arms and gave a small huff.

Stacie turned to Aubrey. “Oh, Spaghetti Girl, I forgot you were here.”

Aubrey’s jaw dropped open, her mouth forming a perfect circle. “Aca-cuse me?”

“Where are you from, Spaghetti Girl?” Stacie was grinning at Aubrey’s discomfort.

“My. Name. Is. Aubrey. Posen.” The blonde spoke through gritted teeth. Stacie gave a Cheshire Cat grin as she watched the blonde primly dab her mouth with her napkin, fold the cloth, and place it next to her plate. “Chloe, Beca, thanks for inviting me to lunch. I think I’m going to head home.”

As Aubrey stood, Stacie said, “nice seeing you again, Spaghetti Girl.”

The blonde whipped her head towards the offensive woman. “Why do you keep calling me that?” Stacie motioned the blonde over and proceeded to whisper in Aubrey’s ear. The look on Chloe’s best friend’s face was nothing less than horrified. She swung her hand back and open-handed slapped Stacie across the cheek, leaving a bright red mark shaped like her palm. Without another goodbye to her friends, Aubrey turned and rushed out of the restaurant.

Chloe was too shocked to go after her friend. Even Beca stared at Stacie in shock as her tall friend rubbed her face. The taller brunette was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath. Eventually, she calmed down enough to lean back and catch her breath as she rubbed her cheek. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Legs, what _did_ you say to Aubrey?”

“She wanted to know why I kept calling her Spaghetti Girl, so I told her.” She shrugged.

“And? You said?”

Stacie flashed her evil smile again and replied, “I said, ‘even spaghetti is straight until it’s hot and wet.’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would be remiss in not thanking Maya for this prompt. Now I can't tell you the full prompt because that just wouldn't be fun, now would it?


	2. Brunch and Vodka

Aubrey was so furious that her hands were shaking as she ordered her Uber. _How dare Stacie be so crude? How dare she mock Aubrey’s sexuality with such an offensive name?_ The blonde was incredibly involved in her thoughts, oblivious to the world. When her ride pulled to the curb, the driver had to honk his horn several times to get her attention.

“Aubrey Posen?”

She checked the license plate and type of car before she climbed in her ride, happy that she didn’t have to concentrate on driving because she’d spent all her energy being angry. By the time she arrived at her home, the spike of adrenaline she’d experienced was waning, and exhaustion was creeping in. All she wanted at this point was to get out of her shoes and take a nice relaxing bubble bath. And that’s precisely what she did.

As she slid into the water with vanilla-scented bubbles, Aubrey felt her burdens melt away. The smokey, earthy smell helped to pull her concerns from her bones as she playfully blew bubbles from her fingertips. The calming music and glass of wine were the final touches to the perfect evening of relaxation.

Aubrey timed her bath perfectly – her wine glass was empty about when the water temperature cooled. She climbed out of the tub, patting most of the water off her body with her towel before wrapping herself in a thick terry cloth robe. As she went about getting ready for bed, she concentrated on keeping her mind away from Beca’s friend so that she could get a good night’s sleep. 

* * *

Chloe called Aubrey a few days later with profuse apologies for what Stacie had said. “That was crude, Bree. I can’t believe she said that, especially since she’d hadn’t met either of us before.”

“Well, she’d never met you.”

“Oh, that’s right. Stacie’s the woman who bought you the drink at the club that night before leaving her phone number. What did you say to her then?”

Aubrey explained that she only said she was flattered but straight. “And it’s true.”

After talking a few minutes longer, Chloe changed the subject and mentioned that the weather was supposed to be mild the next Saturday. “Want to go on a run with me? It’s been so long since we’ve done that.”

Chloe and Beca had recently moved in together in a cute little cottage across from a park, which made Chloe’s the best place to meet for the jog. When Aubrey pulled up in front of the house, she tensed up. Beca and Stacie were sitting on the front porch drinking beer. She’d done well to push Beca’s annoying friend out of her mind all week, yet here she was.

After collecting her nerves, she grabbed her bag and approached the house. “Morning, Beca.” She ignored Stacie, of course.

“Living that velour tracksuit life, I see.” Stacie’s voice was teasing as she mocked the blonde.

Aubrey stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned her head. “Did you hear something, Beca?” Beca didn’t dare respond. “I didn’t think so.”

The moment the blonde got into the house and shut the door a wee bit hard, both the brunettes were laughing. “Dude, I don’t think she likes you, Stace.”

“She’ll come around.”

* * *

As Chloe and Aubrey were cooling down after their run, Aubrey asked about Stacie. “What’s her story?”

Chloe explained she was one of Beca’s friends from long ago. “Beca doesn’t have many non-work friends other than our mutual friends. So I can’t fault her for wanting to hang around with Stacie. The woman’s a jokester but always appropriate with me for the most part.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes but knew that if Beca was happy, Chloe would support her. “I’m glad Beca has someone to be around. I just wish her friend wasn’t irritating as hell.”

“You’ll get used to her. Hey, why don’t you stay for brunch? I know you love Beca’s Belgian waffles, and Stacie is supposed to make a mean Bloody Mary.”

Aubrey couldn’t stomach the thought of more time with Stacie and politely declined before heading home to shower and change clothes, but she did so with Belgian waffles on her mind. After quickly cleaning up, the blonde decided to treat herself to brunch at her favorite weekend spot.

* * *

After looking over the menu, Aubrey decided against waffles and went with bacon, spinach, and cheese quiche with a bottomless mimosa to wash it down. When the server delivered her wedge of the fluffy egg concoction to her table, she pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures from different angles. Earlier, Aubrey had taken a picture of her drink. After finishing her first mimosa, she snapped a photo of her empty glass before ordering another.

Aubrey enjoyed posting pictures on Instagram of anything just about. The only requirement is that the objects had to make her happy – things like food, her friends, fluffy clouds, and flowers. She was even known to take pictures of perfectly organized clothes racks in the department store like jackets lined up by texture and color.

She took her time nibbling on her meal, savoring each bite. Once she was full and working on her third champagne drink, Aubrey composed her brunch Instagram post and put up her pictures from her solo meal. About the time she hit send, an alert came up that Chloe had posted, too.

Chloe’s pictures of Beca’s Belgium waffles appeared fabulous with fresh fruit, pure maple syrup, and fresh whipping cream. She also included some candid shots of Stacie making her “famous” Bloody Mary’s. The last picture was a selfie, obviously taken with Stacie’s long arms. Chloe had her arms wrapped around Beca, and Stacie’s face smooshed next to Beca’s cheek.

Aubrey tapped the heart before commenting. _Looks like you guys had a blast. I should have stayed._ Almost immediately, a response came up to her comment from _@legsfordays_ _You missed a good time._ Aubrey flipped back through the pictures, pausing on the ones of Stacie playing bartender. She’d never really taken a look at the woman who was able to rile her with a simple word.

Her hair was a light brown, slightly wavy, and ended about her mid-back. She had a blistering smile that was captivating. (Why was she even looking at Stacie’s smile?) As Aubrey looked at the close-up selfie of the trio, she realized that Beca’s eyes were dark blue, Chloe’s a crystal medium blue, and Stacie’s, well she couldn’t quite tell what color they were. From that one picture, Stacie’s eyes could have been blue with green ring or green with brown flecks; Aubrey couldn’t tell despite zooming in as close as she could.

She put her phone down, thinking about her own eye color. Aubrey had always gotten compliments on her green eyes despite feeling they didn’t compare to her friends with other exciting colors, but Stacie’s…. (Then again, maybe Stacie’s eyes were _just_ green like hers.)

Aubrey unconsciously picked up her phone again and found Stacie’s Instagram tag and searched for her page. She stalked through pictures and videos for longer than she meant. When her waiter offered her a fourth drink, Aubrey realized she’d gone through her entire glass while looking at Stacie’s pictures. (Yet she still couldn’t figure out Stacie’s eye color.) She waved off the mimosa refill and asked for her check.

* * *

Back at home, Aubrey tried to find things to distract herself. She started her laundry and cleaned the entire kitchen. Her phone was plugged into her kitchen island, laying there, taunting her with more pictures of Stacie. She picked up her phone, wondering if Stacie had her Facebook page locked down. As she opened her FB app, she realized what she was doing, killed all her apps, and locked her screen. She hid her phone in the drawer, hoping that out of sight would be out of mind.

Aubrey had finished two loads of laundry and cleaned almost all her apartment when she heard her phone ring. She almost let it go to voice mail before realizing it was Chloe’s distinctive ring. She raced to the kitchen and answered the phone breathlessly.

“Hmmm, did I interrupt something, Aubrey?” Chloe teased.

“No!” Aubrey’s response was huffy, arrogant.

“You sound out of breath, that’s all. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

Aubrey explained that she was getting things done around the apartment.

“I always thought you had a schedule for those types of chores so things don’t pile up on you throughout the week.”

“Ehhh. I needed the distraction.”

Chloe thought her friend was still upset and launched into an apology about the brunch photos she posted on Instagram. She was stumbling over her words so much that she sounded like Beca when she got discombobulated.

“Chloe!” Aubrey stopped her friend’s rambling. “I commented on your post. I meant what I said. It looks like you had a good time.” The redhead didn’t respond. “Chlo?”

“I saw that; I hoped you weren't just playing nice. I also saw that Stacie responded, then immediately commented on your post.”

“She did what?!? Mine?” After spending so much time stalking Stacie’s Instagram during brunch, Aubrey had tried to avoid her phone to keep from getting caught up in everything.

“Yeah,” Chloe chuckled. “You have a new follower, too, I think.”

Aubrey put her phone on speaker and pulled up her Instagram app. Sure enough, there was a like on her brunch post and a new comment from _@legsfordays: Your brunch looks just as yummy. Bloody Mary’s are better_ _😉_ Stacie had then followed her page. “Well, I’ll be.”

“I hope this means the teasing stops soon, Bree. Beca and I really want you two to get along. I have a feeling she’ll be around our house a lot.”

Aubrey didn’t dare tell her best friend that she’d spent most of an entire mimosa stalking Stacie’s Instagram and analyzing her eye color. (No, that’d be weird to admit even though that’s what I did.)

After the two friends got off the phone, Aubrey declared her Saturday chores done. In fact, she’d been able to finish a full week’s tasks. The distraction had been much needed. As a reward, she decided to catch up on some television. She queued up the DVR and flipped through the list of shows. Once she’d decided on _Chopped_ , she made herself some herbal tea before tucking her feet beneath her on the couch.

Before long, she felt her eyes closing as her energy faded. After she turned off the TV house safely shut up the house for the night, Aubrey changed from her cleaning clothes into her silky pajamas. She’d shaved her legs in her bubble bath the night before and liked the way the smooth cloth rubbed against her hair-free legs.

 _There’s no better smell than freshly washed sheets,_ she thought to herself. She slipped into her bed and curled up, hugging a pillow to her stomach.

* * *

Aubrey woke up early Sunday, feeling uncharacteristically well-rested. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d slept that well and attributed the good night to her early morning run the day before and hard work cleaning her house. Since she had a week’s worth of house chores done, she decided to FaceTime Chloe to see if she wanted to go on another run.

She propped her phone up on her dresser as she began to get ready for a run and called Chloe. When Chloe rejected the FaceTime and called back with a voice call, Aubrey was confused. “Chloe?”

“What time is it,” Chloe moaned. She sounded incredibly miserable like she’d been up for most of the night and woke up gargling rocks.

“I am so sorry I woke you up, Chlo. It’s 8:00. I thought you’d be up since you always go running on the weekends. I called to see if you wanted to go for a jog again.”

“God, no.” Chloe coughed and sounded horrible.

“Are you okay? Do I need to bring you something?” Aubrey was afraid her friend was getting sick.

“No. I’m just way hungover and need sleep.”

“Oh. Ummm okay. I’m sorry. Call me when you are up and moving.” Aubrey wondered if everything was genuinely okay since Chloe sounded incredibly hungover, still drunk even, which was unlike Chloe. Maybe she and Beca had gotten into an argument, but surely she would have called. After a few moments of thought, Aubrey put it out of her head and moved on.

Since Aubrey already had on her running gear, she stretched out and went on a run around her neighborhood. Once done, she came home, showered, and made a light breakfast. As she nibbled on toast and bits of fruit, she launched Instagram and saw that Chloe had posted a new Instastory that chronicled her journey building the hangover she was now sporting. Rather than watching the story, Aubrey scrolled down to the pictures first.

One set of three pictures had the caption: _Three dead soldiers @titosvodka forthewin._ The first picture was one empty vodka bottle, then two, then three. _WTH_ Aubrey thought. _Dead soldiers are beer. Did they go through three bottles of vodka?_ _No wonder Chloe was so bad off._

There were a few more pictures of various concoctions. Then a final photo of Stacie standing behind the kitchen counter with a drunk grin on her face with her arm slung over Beca’s shoulder, who was equally as intoxicated. The caption was _#vodkapals @shortybeats @legsfordays_

 _Wait, Stacie?_ A streak of something flashed through Aubrey. She didn’t know if she was mad that Stacie spent the entire day with _her_ friends or jealous that Chloe spent the time with Stacie. Then again, why should she care where Stacie spent her time? She didn’t care. (But the longer Aubrey thought about it, she realized… she did care.)

Aubrey then flipped over to Stacie’s page, where she’d posted several pictures of Bloody Marys and selfies of her and Beca drinking them with the caption _Bloody Mary #badassdrink_. There was Chloe with a few cocktails _Cosmopolitan and Vodka Tonic #frufrudrinks_ then she posted a picture of some cranberry juice from Chloe’s fridge. _Cranberry juice? #notinmyvodka_

At first, the pictures were cute, but the cranberry juice one took Aubrey right back to the bar and infuriated her. Again, she didn’t know why, but once more, Stacie got under her skin. This time without even trying.

Despite being hot under the collar, Aubrey pulled up Beca’s page. Some of the same pictures were posted there, along with a few more embarrassing ones of Stacie passed out on their couch. When she realized Stacie had spent the night, Aubrey thought - for a split second – about going over there and waking up the entire house.

Aubrey spent the entire day analyzing her emotions around the whole situation. Once she made herself admit that Stacie’s post about the cranberry juice was kind of funny, she began to relax. (Did this mean Stacie had been thinking about her?) She convinced herself that any negativity she felt was because she’d wanted to go running with Chloe and couldn’t be because her best friend had spent the night partying with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s best friend. After all, jealousy never looked good on anyone, especially Aubrey Posen.


	3. Lava Java

The next week was stressful for Aubrey. No matter what she did, Stacie would not leave her mind. The blonde refused to follow the brunette’s Instagram page, choosing to stalk her instead. Aubrey feared that if she followed the page, Stacie would think she was interested. And she wasn’t. (Or was she?)

Aubrey finally determined that the daily stalking of the brunette’s Instagram was an attempt to discover any patterns of places she regularly visited. Aubrey then mentally kicked herself for admitting that to herself. (Because what did that matter anyway?)

Regardless, she did learn that Stacie was a creature of at least one habit. Each morning she would get a medium latte and a sesame seed bagel from Lava Java on Jackson Street. When Aubrey scrolled through earlier posts, she discovered Stacie had been posting pictures from there for a while, and apparently, Stacie had a favorite barista. The brunette would always post a picture of the latte foam art the coffee maker would design for her. At first, the art was simple, typical – a rosette, a single heart, concentric hearts.

Recently, when the art became more complex, Aubrey caught herself becoming increasingly irritated, jealous even. When Stacie posted a picture of an intricate sun with a smiley face – in the foam of her latte – Aubrey had enough and got online. When she discovered stencil sets were available for such a purpose, she was relieved. The barista wasn’t someone wickedly talented, and Aubrey shouldn’t be concerned after all. (Besides, she was only a barista, right?)

* * *

Nearly two weeks had gone by, and Aubrey had seen daily lattes from Lava Java, food pictures from lunches, and other random images on Stacie’s ‘Gram. On Wednesday, the blonde decided she’d be daring, and grab some coffee, or tea even. Lava Java wasn’t too far from her apartment, so she walked over at about the right time and got in line to order some tea and a muffin. She didn’t look around at the other customers in fear she might see Stacie. And if she saw Stacie, the brunette might see her. And if the Stacie saw her, she might say something rude. (Or not.)

Aubrey picked up her tea was trying not to rush out the door. She wasn’t sure why she’d come to the coffee shop anyway. “Aubrey?” The blonde froze and slowly turned.

With a forced smile on her face, she responded. “Oh, good morning, Stacie.” Stacie returned her smile. With a real one. Aubrey felt herself start to melt. Stacie’s eyes were even more unique than Aubrey had remembered. (Wait? What about her eyes? Ummm say something _._ ) “Do you come here often?”

“Every morning! It’s on my way to work.” Aubrey wasn’t sure what to say. Her brain seemed to have short-circuited. “I have a bagel over at my usual table.” She motioned to the bag the blonde had in her hand. “Care to join me?”

Stacie was being so kind and seemed to be pleased to see Aubrey. Her attitude seemed genuine. Aubrey hoped it wasn’t a trick. (Oh goodness, what is happening to me?) Aubrey slid into the booth opposite of Stacie who folded her two-in-one closed and slipped it into her bag. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your work.”

“Naw,” Stacie waved her hand at her bag and a long cylinder next to it. “I was going over some rough designs for a meeting this afternoon.”

Aubrey sipped on her tea and took a nibble of her muffin as she felt herself relaxing in light of Stacie’s kind demeanor. “May I ask what kind of work you do?”

“I’m an architect. No big deal, really. Mostly commercial.” The blonde stifled a giggle. “What?” The blonde shook her head. “No, seriously, Aubrey. Why the laugh?”

“I guessed right. Your job. Well, I guessed either engineer or architect.” Stacie looked confused. “Your penmanship on the matchbook?” Aubrey continued. “I imagined the block writing belonged in one of those professions.”

“Oh, my phone number,” Stacie chuckled. “I’m surprised you still have it.”

“I don’t. I burned it that night when I got home.” When Stacie looked shocked, Aubrey added, “matchbook and all.” They both laughed.

“What about you? What do you do?”

“Actuary science – which is a fancy term for a math nerd. Ask Beca; she refuses to let me talk about anything work-related around her.”

Stacie cocked her head sideways. “Beca has said nothing but wonderful things about you.” Aubrey wondered what Beca had said about her or why they were talking about her in the first place. Stacie glanced at her watch. “Yipes, time flies when you are having fun, but I can’t be late for this client meeting. I am glad we ran into each other, Aubrey.”

“Nice seeing you, Stacie. Enjoy your day.”

Aubrey kept her seat and watched as Stacie left the coffee shop. (Why didn’t I get her number? I’m such an idiot. Wait, why do I want her number? I don’t like her. Or do I?) Aubrey threw away her table trash and made her way to work.

* * *

Aubrey was far too distracted to give her work the concentration it required. Pretty much all she could think about was Stacie. Her eyes. Her hair. And her legs for days. Instagram has it right. _Wait, Instagram._ She took the rest of the day off work since she couldn’t get anything done. On her way home, she stopped by Lava Java and bought another tea and one of the muffins like she’d eaten this morning. She staged a picture and ate her snack as she walked home.

She opened up Instagram and posted her tea and muffin pictures. _Breakfast of Champions with @legsfordays @lavajavajackson._ She then navigated to Stacie’s page and liked her page. She selective chose one earlier picture of Stacie’s and commented. The cranberry juice. _I refuse to <3 this picture. #cranberryjuiceisvodkasbestfriend._ Okay, so she cheated with the photos she posted “this morning,” but she hadn’t gotten Stacie’s number and now had a way to contact her. (Wait, why did she want Stacie’s number again?)

A few minutes later, a notification popped up that Aubrey had a like and comment from _@legsfordays_ on her picture, _Sneaky snappin’_ ‘

Aubrey had been so caught up in coming up with a scheme to connect with Stacie that she hadn’t considered the aftermath, like what connecting with Stacie would mean. Her brain was spinning with the possibilities. _I mean, there’s no taking it back now._ Aubrey’s thoughts were interrupted by a tone that alerted her to a direct Instagram message. When she saw the message was from Stacie, she held her breath before clicking into it to read.

_[Stacie: Hey]  
_ _[Aubrey: Hey back]  
_ _[Stacie: Glad you followed my page]  
_ _[Stacie: Hope it’s okay I sent you a direct message]  
_ _[Aubrey: No problem]  
_ _[Stacie: Okay, dumb question?]  
_ _[Stacie: When did you take that picture? Of the tea and muffin? Did you go back this afternoon?]  
_ _[Aubrey: NO!]  
_ _[Aubrey: That’s silly. You just weren’t paying attention]_

The two chattered in direct messages for a bit longer before Aubrey was feeling overwhelmed with the contact, even if it was behind a screen. She told Stacie it was time for dinner and excused herself from the conversation.

_[Stacie: Maybe I’ll see you at Lava Java]  
_ _[Aubrey: Perhaps]_

* * *

Aubrey clicked her phone off and laid it face down to keep the distractions down. She ran her fingers through her hair then shook the thoughts swirling in her head out so she could concentrate on cooking dinner. Cooking for one was a difficult task, so she often cooked double or triple portions for leftovers.

Tonight’s dinner was grilled salmon with yogurt sauce, a cucumber salad, and a side of couscous. Because she wouldn’t immediately eat two of the portions, those were prepared those without skin to avoid the grossness of soggy fish skin. Once she’d packed the leftovers for lunch for the next two days, it was picture time. She artfully arranged her crispy skin salmon atop the tiny balls of couscous with a small bowl of dipping sauce on the side to keep the salmon skin crisp. Finally, the decoratively shaved English cucumbers went on the side.

Aubrey was proud of her cooking ability, so she took pictures of her plate before digging in. After eating, she posted the photos along with the packaged leftovers. _Yummy dinner! With leftovers to boot. #grilledsalmon_ No sooner did she click Send, _@legsfordays_ liked her post and commented. Knowing that Stacie was staying on top of her page almost left goosebumps on her arms. Aubrey wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but it certainly wasn’t irritation anymore.

* * *

The next morning, Aubrey decided to bravely face work again to see if she could be productive. She had her lunches for the next two days tucked away in her bag and began her short walk to work. Before she realized what she was doing, Aubrey had opened the door to Lava Java and gone into the coffee shop.

Despite not knowing a single employee there, Aubrey’s prim, polite nature would not allow her to turn back around and walk out. She felt it rude since she’d gone into the storefront to not to make a purchase, regardless of the unconscious reason she’d gone in. As she waited in line, she tried to take a nonchalant look around the shop.

Sure enough, Stacie was sitting, back to the door, looking down at her tablet with a partially eaten sesame bagel sitting next to what Aubrey imagined was a nearly empty latte. Since Stacie was not looking in her direction, Aubrey didn’t feel so self-conscious watching her.

The blonde picked up her order, steeled her nerves, and headed in the direction of the brunette. “Is this seat taken?” She slipped into the other side of the booth without waiting for an answer. Aubrey spread out her napkin, using a knife to cut her muffin into fourths, before taking a sip of her tea.

Stacie flashed her charming smile, which sent warmth shooting through her body. “Good morning. Come here often?” Aubrey blushed as the tall brunette locked eyes with her.

“No. But I might from now on.” The blonde gave a sheepish grin as she tried to hide her excitement to be sitting across from the woman who had been taking over her daily thoughts and probably some of her nighttime ones as well.

The two visited about random things with Stacie keeping a closer eye on the time, so she didn’t have to run to arrive at work on time. When she stood to collect her things, she glanced at Aubrey’s things. Something caught her eye, and she leaned over the blonde as she motioned with her finger. “What’s that?”

Confused, Aubrey looked over at her bag that contained her laptop and her insulated lunch sack that held two days worth of separately packaged leftovers from the evening before – salmon, couscous, and cucumber salad. “Ummm, my laptop?”

Stacie gestured pointedly to the lunch bag. “No. That. What’s in there?”

“Stacie? That’s my lunch. What does it look like?”

The brunette reached over and snagged the bag by its handle and lifted it over Aubrey, who was too stunned to protest. Stacie unzipped the bag and removed half of the contents, basically stealing what Aubrey had planned to eat the next day.

“Hey! That’s my food for tomorrow.” Once she got over being flabbergasted, she got the giggles. “Why did you take my lunch?”

“Your pictures yesterday looked scrumptious,” Stacie smirked. “Besides, if your salmon tastes as good as it looked, I’ll bring you lunch Friday.”

“You will, will you?” Aubrey arched her eyebrows.

“Yeah.” Stacie rested her hand on Aubrey’s shoulder with a gentle squeeze before walking off, not allowing the blonde to recapture her stolen lunch containers.

The blonde sat there speechless as she watched the gorgeous architect walk away. (Wait. What? Why is she watching Stacie’s ass?)

* * *

Later that afternoon, Aubrey’s text message alert went off.

_[Chloe: What’s up, Bree?]  
_ _[Aubrey: ??]  
_ _[Chloe: You’ve been distant]  
_ _[Aubrey: I’ve been busy]  
_ _[Chloe: I miss my best friend]_

The two friends decided to meet for an early dinner that evening, just the two of them. It’d been a while since they’d spent time with just both of them, and refreshing the friendship was always a good thing.

“Okay, my friend, spill?”

Aubrey crossed her ankles as she demurely dabbed at the edges of her mouth with her napkin. “I’m not sure what you mean, Chlo.” The blonde refused to make eye contact.

“You’ve been acting differently, distracted. I don’t know – like you are seeing someone or even have a crush on someone.”

“A crush? Seriously? What are we – middle school?” Aubrey’s stomach clenched as she knew her friend was dancing so close to the truth. Neither woman talked for the longest time. Finally, Aubrey decided to jump in feet first. “When did you know Beca was the one for you?”

“You **are** seeing someone.” Chloe clapped her hands and leaned forward. “I want to know all about him.”

Aubrey tried to over-exaggerate an eye-roll. “Chlo, I’m serious. How did you know Beca and you belonged together?”

“Hmmm, Beca kind of snuck up on me, I think. She was snarky at first, almost irritated me – but still cute. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Then we started talking. Things snowballed from there. The more we talked, the more I liked her. Before I knew it, thoughts of her encompassed all my thoughts. In fact, I think I might have fallen in love with her before we even started dating.”

The blonde narrowed her eyes as she thought about what her friend had said. “And you didn’t care that she was a woman?”

“Bree, come on. You need to get over that. You know I’m gay. And before Beca, I’m not sure what I was – bi, pan, lesbian – but I do know one thing for sure, I have never been straight. I’ve always appreciated a nice female body. What’s going on, Aubrey? Talk to me.”

“I’m straight and okay with that.” She hesitated. Chloe could see her friend was nervous and decided to wait and let Aubrey talk when she was ready. “But lately, I’ve been thinking about someone.”

“I knew it,” Chloe giggled as she gave a small fist pump.

Aubrey held up a hand to stop her friend from saying anything else. “I can’t get my mind off this person. And we’ve been talking – social media, text messages, a few mornings this week at a coffee shop.” She noticed Chloe slap her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. “What?” Aubrey was suddenly nervous she’d given too much away.

“Your posts. In the morning at Lava Java. You’ve been meeting **Stacie** on the way to work!” Aubrey nodded her head as she dropped her eyes down to the table. Chloe could tell the blonde was uncomfortable and didn’t dare tease her. “How’s that been?”

The friends talked for quite some time about the various interactions Stacie and Aubrey had. “I don’t know what to do, Chloe. I can’t get her off out of my mind.”

“Ummm, have you considered asking her out?” Chloe winced, fearing the reaction she might get.

Something flashed in Aubrey’s eyes as she sat upright, both feet slamming on the floor. Her face reddened, this time in anger. “I. Am. Not…”

Chloe cut her friend off. “Don’t say it, Aubrey. Don’t say what you are or are not because it seems as though you are struggling with things. Plus, Stacie seems to be overwhelming your thoughts. So about that date…”

* * *

“Okay, Legs. Spill.”

Stacie popped open her beer, kicked back in her chair with her feet propped on the coffee table. She grinned, shrugged, and downed some of her beer. “Work is going well. I’m glad I took this job, **and** I get to be close to you.”

Beca placed her feet firmly against Stacie’s and shoved them off the table where they landed with a thump. “Hey,” Stacie protested as she put her legs back up. “That wasn’t nice.”

“Chloe and I have been spending time on your Instagram. Aaaaaaaaaaand it seems that a lot of things coincide with a certain someone else’s Instagram.” The smaller girl knew that teasing Stacie was the way to get the truth out of her.

“Pshaw,” Stacie shook her head. “You **and** your girlfriend are whack.” The taller woman nervously finished her beer and got another.

Her friend pulled out an iPad and launched Instagram. “Allow me to demonstrate.” She located the ‘breakfast of champions’ picture Aubrey had posted of her tea and muffin, where she had tagged Stacie. “Exhibit One.” After flipping through a few more tagged photos at Lava Java, she came to a double set of pics on Stacie’s page that showed first some leftovers in Tupperware then a second showing the empty containers.

“Exhibit Two. Chloe says those belong to Aubrey. Did she make your lunch?”

Stacie choked on her beer as she laughed. “Ummm, no. I kinda stole it from her. She didn’t have much choice in the matter. In fact, I owe her lunch for doing that. I told her if the salmon was as good as it looked, I’d ‘replace’ it.” She made quote marks with her fingers.

“So, when is this ‘replacement’ lunch going to happen?”

“Tomorrow.” Stacie shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “And I’m clueless as to what to do. You two know Aubrey better than I do. I was hoping you could help.”

Beca got up and went to rummage in a drawer and came back with a flyer. “Bree has been begging for Chloe to go with her to check this place out. The location is close to her job, so maybe something from here?”

“Mother’s Café. Vegetarian and Vegan. Interesting.” She nodded her head as she shook the flyer. “Thanks, Bec. This sounds right up Aubrey's alley."


	4. Lunch, Dinner, and More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A heavy work today tomorrow forced me to publish a day early. Darn it.

On Friday morning, when Stacie showed up at Lava Java, she was surprised to see Aubrey already sitting at ‘their’ booth. The brunette gave a soft chuckle as she caught a glimpse of a sesame bagel waiting for her. As she approached with her latte, she discovered Aubrey reading a book. Stacie stopped just short of her Lava Java buddy to appreciate the view.

“Is this place taken?” Stacie’s voice was quiet as she smiled down at the blonde, who motioned with her hand for Stacie to take a seat. “You’re here early.”

Aubrey pulled off her tortoiseshell glasses and put them on the pages of her book that her focus had been on. “I started this book last night and thought I’d get a little reading done.” Honestly, she had been sitting there for a bit, reading the same page over and over, unable to concentrate. Aubrey wasn’t sure why she had decided to arrive earlier than usual, especially with her recent distractions. (Maybe Stacie was why she was distracted.)

The women enjoyed a bit of silence as they nibbled on their breakfast and sipped their morning drinks. “Oh, I have something that belongs to you.” Stacie pulled the Tupperware she’d stolen the previous day. “They’re clean. And, I have to admit, your lunch went beyond my expectations. I had to force myself to eat slowly to savor the meal.”

Aubrey tried to hide her smile at Stacie’s praise. She tilted her head sideways as she replied. “Did you have doubts?” Stacie shook her head.

“And since I ate your lunch for today, that means I owe you. So you don’t go hungry or anything.” Stacie shot a sideways smile across the booth.

When Aubrey found that she would not be able to make her own lunch request, the women bantered back and forth. “You’ll like it,” Stacie promised. After securing the blonde’s work address and the time she wanted her ‘delivery,’ Stacie grabbed her bags and headed to work.

* * *

When Stacie left Aubrey’s office after lunch, the brunette felt like she was floating on clouds. When she arrived, Stacie unpacked the lunches on this small meeting table in the blonde’s office while Aubrey retrieved bottles of water from her mini-fridge. When the blonde saw Mother’s Café stamped on the paper bag, Aubrey’s calm demeanor almost snapped with her excitement.

After a great deal of contemplation and some help from the café’s cashier, Stacie had chosen vegan Szechuan stir fry for Aubrey and spinach lasagna for herself. Apparently, she had chosen well because Aubrey didn’t think twice before cutting each order in half so they could each have a portion of the other’s meal.

“Not that my stir fry doesn’t look fabulous or anything. I’ve been dying to eat here, and this way, we each get to try two things!” Aubrey’s explanation laid out her reasoning perfectly. And Stacie was not going to argue with Aubrey!

The women visited the entire hour until a soft alarm on Stacie’s smartwatch reminded her that she had an appointment with a client. “Thanks for lunch, Stacie.” The blonde’s green eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Makes me glad you stole mine yesterday.”

With a sheepish grin, Stacie said her goodbyes and floated off to her client meeting.

* * *

_[Aubrey: Thanks again for lunch]  
_ _[Stacie: The pleasure was all mine]_

There was a long pause before Aubrey messaged again.

_[Aubrey: I was wondering…]_

Stacie got impatient and began tapping her foot.

_[Aubrey: Do you have plans for dinner?]_

Impatience turned to anticipation.

_[Stacie: I don’t know. Do I?]_

She realized her sarcasm may have spooked Aubrey.

_[Stacie: Aubrey, I’m sorry. That was rude. No. I don’t have plans.]  
_ _[Aubrey: Okay]  
_ _[Aubrey: Would you be interested in meeting at the new Thai place on Kensing Road?]_

Stacie was happy that Aubrey couldn’t see her childish grin through texts.

_[Stacie: Thai sounds excellent. 7:00?]  
_ _[Aubrey: See you then.]_

Aubrey could feel the building heat in her cheeks. Messaging Stacie had taken about every ounce of nerve she had. But she knew she still had one more person to text.

_[Aubrey: I asked her out.]  
_ _[Chloe: WHAT?]  
_ _[Chloe: Seriously, you asked Stacie Conrad out on a date?]  
_ _[Aubrey: No, not on a date. To dinner.]  
_ _[Chloe: Same difference.]  
_ _[Chloe: I’m proud of you, Aubrey]_

The two friends messaged back and forth a bit longer until Aubrey had to get back to work. She had one standing report to finish before her weekend officially started.

* * *

Aubrey tried not to be overly concerned with dinner despite Stacie spinning into her every thought. She tried to convince herself that they were two friends going out for a bite to eat despite her mind veering off into lewd and lascivious thoughts about the tall brunette. The more she tried to **not** think about Stacie, the more ingrained those thoughts became.

Finally, she decided to have a glass of wine, get dressed, and head to the restaurant. _Casual, I have to stay casual,_ she thought as she selected a loose off-white cable knit sweater which fell over jeans tucked into brown, soft leather boots. Aubrey fastened a simple gold necklace with a small charm around her neck. She looked herself over in the mirror and declared herself subtly casual yet nice enough for the place they were going.

 _Sway_ was a new upscale, award-winning, modern Thai restaurant. Aubrey considered herself a foodie and kept her eye on all the newest places to eat. But it wasn’t so fancy for her to feel underdressed. When Stacie had brought her lunch from Mother’s Café, one of the places she’d been saving for the right time, she was impressed. When she made up her mind to see if Stacie would meet her for dinner, she had the idea of meeting at another eatery she’d wanted to visit.

When Aubrey walked through the doors, she saw the woman she’d been thinking about endlessly standing at the host stand. Before approaching, she took the time to appreciate the architect’s body. Stacie’s legs were long, slender, and melted right into her waist. The brunette had on tight jeans and a dark green loose silk shirt that complimented her eyes. The blonde smiled, stepped forward, and placed her hand lightly on the small of Stacie’s back.

“Just in time. Our table is ready.” Stacie turned slightly, offered her elbow to Aubrey, and escorted her behind the maître de to their table. The brunette beat the host to pulling out Aubrey’s chair for her. “Nice place, Aubrey.”

When the server arrived with their drinks, both women were ready with their orders. They shared the vegetable spring roll appetizer. Stacie ordered Jungle Curry, a wagyu brisket dish, while Aubrey requested Tiger Cry, a char-grilled hanger steak.

The conversation was easy, pleasant as the pair enjoyed their drinks while waiting for their food. Aubrey asked about Stacie’s background, where she grew up and went to university. “What pulled you into architecture? Surely there is more to it than designing buildings.”

Stacie chuckled as she nodded her head in agreement. “Being an architect is much more than just helping create buildings. The ability to design is a definite need, but that involves knowledge of mathematics, engineering, even physics. Successful architects need to have a strong drive and dedication to their craft.”

The entire time the brunette spoke, Aubrey was listening intently. She was leaned towards Stacie, nodding as Stacie made specific points, and asking questions for clarity. She caught herself and Stacie off guard when she reached across the table and rested her fingertips on Stacie’s arm as they talked. The moment she realized what she had done, she inconspicuously withdrew her hand – immediately missing the warmth Stacie’s skin had brought to her fingertips.

While Aubrey didn’t help herself to half of Stacie’s meal, the women did exchange bites so they could appreciate the other’s choices. The pair laughed and joked as though they had been friends for years. After sharing a dessert of a mango forbidden rice sundae, they declared themselves stuffed. While neither woman was ready to go home, they agreed they could not stay in the restaurant all night.

* * *

As the women stood outside the restaurant saying their goodbyes, a shiver ran up Aubrey’s back. Stacie gently placed her arm around Aubrey and pulled her tight, but gentle. The women's faces were exceptionally close as they peered into each other's eyes, Aubrey once again appreciating the unique color of Stacie’s eyes. All movement seemed to be suspended until Stacie slowly moved her mouth towards Aubrey’s, closing her eyes.

The moment their lips were about to touch, Stacie felt Aubrey turn her head. Stacie opened her eyes to find Aubrey staring at her wide-eyed in shock. Startled, the blonde swiftly pulled away from the other woman’s embrace. Not knowing what to say, Aubrey turned and walked away from the restaurant towards her car.

Stacie watched Aubrey’s rapid retreat in stunned silence. _Wow,_ she thought. _I read those cues all wrong. Shit. Aubrey is straight. How could I forget that one detail?_ Stacie was silently berating herself for her actions that undoubtedly caused Aubrey’s discomfort. The blonde didn't even say goodbye. Shame crept into Stacie’s mind as she turned the other direction towards her own car. The brunette kicked herself since she’d promised Beca she would be respectful of Aubrey.

* * *

Aubrey sat behind the wheel of her car, replaying Stacie’s actions. She gripped the wheel tightly, unsure of why her hands were shaking. When her hands calmed, she relaxed back into the seat and thought. _Maybe I just imagined it. Maybe Stacie wasn't going to kiss me, or was she? Did I lead her on with the pretense of a kiss?_ Aubrey’s head was spinning with thoughts. Eventually, she cranked the ignition to her car and headed home.

Back at home, the blonde could not seem to get comfortable in bed. Aubrey had taken a steamy shower in an attempt to relax the tense muscles in her neck and back. Despite the hot shower, Aubrey tossed and turned as if she was sleeping in a strange bed. Finally giving up, she wandered into the living area and poured herself a drink. As she sat on the couch, she let her mind drift back to the seemingly endless conversation she had that night with Stacie.

When she heard the knock on her door, Aubrey somehow knew who would be on the other side. She stepped aside and let the brunette into her home. “May I offer you something to drink?” Stacie said she’d have whatever Aubrey was drinking. When the blonde sat down a tumbler and poured two fingers of Scotch then refilled her own glass, the brunette tried to hide her surprise.

Neither woman spoke much until Stacie broke the silence. “I was out of line, Aubrey. Can you forgive me?”

The blonde drained her second drink and turned to face the woman next to her. "Kiss me, Stacie.” The shock on Stacie’s face from Aubrey’s boldness was evident. The brunette shook her head and suddenly became quite interested in her scotch. “Why do I feel like you are cautious with me?”

“Because I am. Aubrey…”

“Please. Kiss me.” There was such an ache in Aubrey’s voice that Stacie was no longer interested in denying the blonde or stretching out the anticipation she’d been feeling for quite some time. She cupped Aubrey’s face with both hands and gently pressed their lips together. The kiss lasted what seemed like forever. Then the brunette slowly backed away and looked at Aubrey, whose head was resting against the couch, eyes closed.

Suddenly Aubrey’s hand slid from around Stacie’s waist up to her shoulders, pulled Stacie to her roughly, and kissed her. Hard. Stacie’s tongue deftly slipped against Aubrey’s lips. The blonde immediately responded in kind, opening her mouth for Stacie, allowing their tongues to intertwine. Stacie moaned, sucking Aubrey’s bottom lip into her mouth.

* * *

Aubrey jolted upright as she woke up with a deep throbbing between her legs. She thought her dream of Stacie’s kiss would fade, but no such luck. The blonde fell back against her pillow as her hand slipped beneath her pajama pants and into her panties. When she felt how her fingers slipped through the wetness, she curled over on her side, tucking a spare pillow between her legs.

As she circled her fingers around her clit, her mind floated back to her dream, how the sensations of Stacie’s lips felt so real. Aubrey imagined how the other woman would brush her hair behind her ears, talk to her with a soft voice, and touch her with a gentle touch.

When Aubrey realized what she was doing, well, more like who she was thinking about while she touched herself, she withdrew her hand and rolled to her back. _I can’t do this, not with Stacie on my mind._ The frustrated blonde threw off the covers and swung her legs off the bed. Aubrey didn’t even bother making her bed before she cranked on the shower.

With no desire for warmth, Aubrey stepped into her shower, toes flinching as they touched the chilled ceramic floor not warmed by water. She cranked on the water, keeping it cold, before easing herself under the stream. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t keep the image of Stacie’s lips moving closer to hers out of her mind.

The cold shower was supposed to help erase the images and negate the thoughts of the tall brunette. Aubrey washed and conditioned her hair and soaped her body while she let the conditioner set. Despite desperately wanting to get her body warm, she waited until her hair and body were both clean before cranking off the cold water.

Aubrey didn’t allow herself warm water; instead, she used her towel and brisk drying motions to rub some warmth back into her limbs and torso. She dressed in her running garb and got ready to try to run out her frustrations.

* * *

As soon as the sun broke over the horizon, Aubrey was in her running gear and stretched out. Her pace was slow at first, steadily increasing until she was at a clip she knew she’d have difficulty keeping. However, she pushed herself, pushed through the pain until she almost collapsed. As she got closer to home, she slowed her pace, trying to time her cool down for her arrival at home.

When she walked into the house, she immediately stripped her sweaty clothes and made a beeline to the shower. Because she’d taken a cold shower earlier in the morning, she cranked the water scorching hot to ease her aching muscles. The earlier ice-cold shower had helped clear her brain from the dream she had the night before, from her thoughts about Stacie, from everything. And the hot water helped bring her body back to center.

Aubrey pulled on a ragged t-shirt and some worn yet soft sweatpants. After removing her damp hair away from her face in a tight ponytail, she began to do some of her Saturday chores. With the music cranked up, Aubrey danced around the room as she cleaned. While her mind kept drifting back to Stacie, she tried to push the thoughts aside and concentrate on her chores. Once she finished her housework, she gave Chloe a call.

The two friends chit-chatted a bit before Chloe bit the bullet and asked about Aubrey’s date. “It wasn’t a date.” Chloe giggled as she teased her friend, trying to get her to define what a date would be

Aubrey told her what happened as the pair were leaving the restaurant but left out her later dream and waking up hot and bothered. “I think I wanted to kiss her, Chlo. But I got scared.”

When Chloe tried to get her to process that fear, Aubrey went back to her standard response. “I can’t be gay. I’ve dated guys.” The redhead did not try to make sense of her friend’s claims; instead, she wanted to allow Aubrey to work through her emotions at her own pace. She knew her friend well enough to know Aubrey’s brain was agitated as she tried to make sense of her situation.

“There’s more to what you are telling me, isn’t there?” Chloe challenged Aubrey’s silence. When Aubrey finally admitted to the suggestive dream about kissing Stacie, Chloe knew that her friend was drifting towards accepting at least the possibility she might be interested in finding out what would happen if she loosened the reins where Stacie was concerned.

After the friends hang up the phone, Aubrey wasn’t sure whether she wanted to deal with her emotions or find another way to distract herself from thinking about Stacie.


	5. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With all the mess in the world, I decided to toss my posting schedule out the window.

Stacie woke up feeling like a world-class heel for trying to kiss Aubrey. She had probably ruined their friendship and any chance of getting to know the blonde better. Stacie also thought she had jeopardized any goodwill built up with her best friend’s girlfriend.

Chloe would never forgive her if she felt Stacie had forced herself onto Aubrey. The blonde certainly wouldn’t either. Stacie and Aubrey hadn’t exactly started on the right foot, and Stacie had been trying to make that up to Aubrey since the moment she’d seen her in Lava Java. Stacie made up her mind that an apology for the previous night was in order.

She felt that her atonement would be best be done in person. Stacie decided to go over to Aubrey’s house. However, there were a few problems with that – she didn’t know where Aubrey lived, nor did she know how Aubrey would feel about Stacie showing up on her doorstep unannounced.

Stacie called Beca to give a short explanation of what she’d done the night before and why she wanted to see Aubrey. Chloe had already had her conversation with Aubrey, and Beca knew that her friend might be a little more welcome at Aubrey’s than she thought. After quickly checking with Chloe, Beca provided Stacie with Aubrey’s address and assured her going over there would be a good idea.

* * *

The knock on the front door surprised Aubrey as she was not expecting company. After checking who was there through the peephole, she somehow wasn’t surprised to see Stacie standing there with her arms tucked behind her back. She had on a simple tank top under a shirt with just two buttons fastened. Enough skin showed to make Aubrey gasp.

“Just a minute,” Aubrey called out as she redid her ponytail and glanced around the front room to ensure there were no lingering messes.

“Hi,” Stacie quietly said when she saw Aubrey open the door. “I brought you these.” She pulled a flower bouquet from behind her back. “A peace offering?” Her voice was questioning, nervous. Aubrey took the flowers, smelled their fragment aroma, and stepped aside for the brunette to enter.

As Aubrey dug around in her cabinets for a vase to put the flowers in, she offered Stacie something to drink. “Whatever you’re having.” Aubrey glanced at the decanter of scotch sitting on her counter and chuckled to herself as she poured both of them a glass of cold water from the pitcher in the refrigerator.

“Thank you for the beautiful flowers, Stacie. You are kind.” She handed the brunette a glass of water before taking a seat on the couch across from her guest.

“I didn’t feel as though I should come empty-handed.” Stacie was terrified as she stared into her water glass. “I wanted to apologize for last night.” Aubrey’s eyebrows shot up questioningly.

“For trying to kiss you. I know you don’t swing that way; it’s just that I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.” Stacie knew she was rambling but couldn’t stop herself. “You are so easy to talk to, and last night – well last night, I guess I misread the signals. Or I only saw what I wanted to see. But that doesn’t give me the right to do what I did, well almost did.”

Aubrey’s brain began to spin again with thoughts of Stacie and her own upbringing and Stacie and her non-gayness and Stacie. When Stacie touched her arm, she snapped back to the present. Stacie had moved over and was crouching next to Aubrey.

“I don’t want to lose our friendship, Aubrey. You mean more to me than I care to admit.” By now, Stacie’s words were much less frantic, just wishing Aubrey would say something, anything.

The blonde looked at Stacie’s hand resting on her arm, gave a soft smile, and slipped her hand beneath Stacie’s. She lifted the brunette’s palm to her lips and kissing it before resting it on her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered. She pulled Stacie’s arm over her shoulder, drew her feet up beneath her on the couch, and snuggled into Stacie’s chest.

Stacie’s eyes widened as her heart began to beat faster at this unexpected turn of events. She pulled Aubrey closer, kissed the top of her head, and relaxed in the comfort of having the woman in her arms. It was almost as though she could feel the moment when things shifted. She somehow knew Aubrey might be closer to spaghetti than when they’d met.

* * *

After an indeterminate amount of time, Aubrey finally spoke. “I suppose I owe you an explanation.” She used her fingers to draw circles on Stacie’s upper arm before lacing their fingers together.

“You don’t owe me anything, Aubrey. I only came to apologize for last night.”

“That’s just it. You don’t owe me an apology, Stacie. I got caught off guard is all. That seems to be happening a lot to me lately.” Aubrey felt as though she needed to tell Stacie everything – her childhood background, the fights she had with Chloe when Chloe came out to her, and how she often failed to support her best friend when it came to matters of sexuality. With a breath, she began her tale.

To her credit, Stacie kept quiet and listened, only reacting by pulling Aubrey closer and rubbing her arm when Aubrey seemed to be tensing up. “I… can’t be gay, Stacie. I mean, ugh. I’m so confused. I will admit that I _am_ attracted to you, but gay - that’s not who I am.”

Stacie explained that nobody was calling her gay, and attraction to a woman didn’t make her gay. It only meant she was attracted to someone different than her norm.

When Aubrey exclaimed that she had only dated guys, Stacie laughed and asked her if she was attracted to all men. Aubrey turned up her nose before vehemently denying the accusation. “If you aren’t attracted to all men, then what’s to say you can’t be attracted to one woman.”

The short amount of time Stacie talked to Aubrey about her feelings and interests had made a more significant dent in Aubrey’s protective shield than Chloe’s talks ever had over the last several years. The longer they talked, the more comfortable Aubrey felt in her own skin. (Maybe this was a possibility after all.)

When Aubrey’s stomach began to growl around mid-afternoon, she blushed and explained that she’d had an early breakfast and skipped lunch. When Stacie admitted she could eat as well, they decided to grab a bite to eat. Since they were both dressed quite casually, Aubrey suggested they walked to a neighborhood diner a few blocks from her house.

* * *

As she was fishing her keys from the bowl beside the door, Stacie caught Aubrey off-guard by capturing Aubrey’s face in her hands. She stared at her for a few minutes before pressing her lips to Aubrey’s forehead and walking out the door.

The stunned blonde locked the house behind her and walked down the stairs where Stacie was waiting. Stacie had kissed her forehead before, and Aubrey considered that strangely comforting. (Why is it that I want her to kiss **me**?) As they walked, Aubrey realized at some point, she and Stacie had started holding hands. She felt reassured and didn’t pull away.

Once the pair arrived at the diner and seated across from each other in a booth, Stacie again grasped Aubrey’s hand. When the waitress came up to take their order, Aubrey didn’t even have the urge to pull her hand away. (Stacie feels… right. This feels right; I think.)

The pair fell back into their relaxed conversation, just as they had every other time they’d spent together. Stacie focused her questions on Aubrey’s past and how she got involved in actuary science, picking up the conversation they’d had the night before about Stacie’s interest in architecture.

“Ever since I was young, math was always my favorite subject. My daddy told me that girls ‘don’t do math,’ and several of my teachers tried to encourage me to be interested in other areas. The harder they tried, the more I loved math. I loved the challenges it posed and how I felt when I successfully solved a problem.

“In college, my initial major was straight mathematics.” Aubrey stopped since Stacie was chuckling. When she realized how she’d phrased her major, she pinched Stacie’s arm.

“That’s for laughing. Anyway, back then, I attended a seminar on actuarial science and learned how it helped prevent businesses from making financial risks or at least reduced damage from those risks. So I have double major – math and actuarial science. Just as your job combines different aspects, I have a variety of tools I use, including calculus, number theory, and probability.”

“Wow,” Stacie exclaimed. “That’s deep.”

“Not really. The calculations are easy. The challenge is applying meaning to the results of those calculations to help my customers to mitigate financial risks. God, now I sound like a total nerd.” Aubrey blushed as she looked away. Stacie wisely chose not to tease the blonde to keep her from shutting down.

The brunette reached up and touched the gold charm Aubrey was wearing. “I saw this last night. Quite intriguing. Tell me about it?”

Aubrey self-consciously reached up and touched the rectangular charm that was hanging around her neck. “It’s the Fibonacci spiral. Please don’t make me explain; I’ve already geeked out enough for today.”

* * *

After they ate and walked back to Aubrey’s house, the blonde invited Stacie to come back in. Stacie held back, not wanting to overstay her welcome. “I only came over to apologize anyway.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes and tugged on Stacie’s hand, pulling her through the door. “Stay, I insist.” Aubrey wondered if she’d have the nerve to tell Stacie about her dream the night before or the endless thoughts she’d been having since the two had been hanging out. She desperately wanted Stacie to know but didn’t know how to go about telling her.

Once she convinced Stacie not to leave, the pair were quick to find themselves back where they had earlier been on the couch. Aubrey felt she could never get enough of Stacie’s company, and now she realized she was becoming addicted to her affections as well. The blonde knew something would have to give soon. (How can I question myself when all I want to do is to kiss her?)

Stacie pressed her lips to Aubrey’s forehead, who giggled coyly. She liked Stacie’s affections. "Why do I feel you are cautious with me, Stacie Conrad?" Aubrey laid her head on Stacie’s chest as she brought back the words from her earlier dream.

"Because I am," Stacie responded. "I told you I respect you. Your reaction last night killed me, so this,” she motioned to their close physical proximity, “sort of feels like an out of body experience for me. I’m not supposed to be this close to you.” Aubrey didn’t respond, so Stacie quickly added, “but that's okay. I kinda like it."

"Out of body experience, hmmm?" Aubrey snaked her arms inside Stacie’s outer shirt, pulling her close.

"Aubrey, play nicely," Stacie warned.

"Kiss me."

Silence. Stacie breathed a small breath of release as she moistened her lips in anticipation. That would be no problem. She had wanted that for who knows how long. But after thinking she had pushed things too far the night before, Stacie didn’t move towards the blonde.

“Stacie,” Aubrey repeated. “Kiss me, please. I’m asking.” Her voice was almost aching. “I’ve thought about you almost non-stop, even since before we started hanging out at Lava Java.”

The brunette admitted that she’d, too, been thinking of the other woman for quite some time. “I want to kiss you. But another reaction like last night… would shred me to pieces.” However, when Stacie looked down, she saw Aubrey looking back at her with a burning fire in her eyes. She immediately knew that this time, things would be okay.

“Close your eyes, Bree.” As the blonde began to protest, Stacie silenced her with a soft finger to her lips. “Shhh.” Stacie eased one leg between Aubrey and the couch, wrapping her legs around the blonde’s waist. She gently placed her hands on Aubrey’s shoulders and kissed the corner of her mouth. Aubrey began to move towards her. “Shhh, Bree. Just relax. Keep your eyes closed.”

Stacie ran her lips across Aubrey’s cheek, back down her jaw, and across to the other side of her face. She knew that by Aubrey keeping her eyes closed, the feelings would intensify. Closing off one sense allows someone to concentrate on another better.

She paused for a moment as she looked at Aubrey sitting in front of her, anxiously waiting, but wanting. Aubrey gasped as Stacie traced her lips with her tongue before they both leaned into each other, freezing at the sensations both had been waiting for – soft lips, ache, desire.

"Gawd Aubrey," Stacie whispered into the other woman’s mouth as Aubrey kissed her slowly. "I've done nothing but think of kissing you for weeks."

"Then don't stop," Aubrey surprisingly retorted. She moved her hands up to Stacie’s shoulders as the brunette slipped her arms around Aubrey’s waist. Aubrey pulled Stacie against her body, trying to remain calm, but fighting the urge to become frantic.

Aubrey drew in a sharp gasp of breath as she looked up at Stacie. "Are you sure, Bree? I can stop." Stacie whispered as she leaned down to kiss Aubrey’s ear.

Aubrey nodded as Stacie kissed her neck. “I’m sure, and please don’t.”

Stacie’s stomach dropped. She kept the one leg aside Aubrey and gently straddled her lap with the other. She cupped Aubrey’s face with her hand and gently stroked her cheek. Stacie leaned down and kissed Aubrey’s other cheek.

Stacie could still sense the tension in the other woman and eased Aubrey back on the couch and settled her weight on top of her. Their kissing slowed from feverish and urgent to a much slower, tender pace.

Stacie moved to press her lips against Aubrey’s neck, her throat. When she moved down to kiss Aubrey’s stomach, the blonde’s breath hitched. Chill bumps spread across her stomach to match the ones on her arms. Stacie moved quickly back up envelope Aubrey’s mouth with hers. The brunette shifted her body off the top of Aubrey’s, moving to her side, while still kissing her.

"Mmm, Stace. Why did you move? I liked where you were." Aubrey implored softly in a begging voice. She sucked Stacie's lower lip into her mouth.

“I moved,” Stacie groaned, "because you feel good. A little too good."

Aubrey placed her hands on Stacie’s hips and tugged. "So come back, Stacie. Make me feel good." Aubrey pulled Stacie’s face closer so she could kiss her deeply. Her tongue found Stacie’s, teasing it, sucking it into her mouth.

Stacie groaned again. "Aubrey, I like you. But…"

Aubrey sighed. “I like you, too, Stacie. No buts.” She turned further sideways so she could better face Stacie and saw the set determination in Stacie’s face and knew that things wouldn’t be progressing any further that night. "Stacie. You are such a good person. In so many ways."

"I just don't want to rush anything. You have me so turned on right now. But I also know that good things come to those who wait. I don't know what it is about you. But something is telling me to wait."

* * *

Stacie climbed off the couch and rebuttoned her shirt. She grabbed both water glasses from the coffee table and refilled them from the refrigerator. After giving one to Aubrey, she wandered the living room, trying to gather her wits. Stacie ended up standing in front of the bookshelf on the back wall of the living room.

“Quite the collection of books you have here, Aubrey.” She ran her fingers across the spines before pulling one down and gingerly opened the cover, careful not to crack the spine. “These are incredibly old.”

She looked over her shoulder at Aubrey, who curiously watched her. “I collect vintage math books. As you can tell, I went overboard at some point, so now I have a personal rule. I cannot buy a book unless it’s older than the oldest text I have.” She smiled at Stacie’s curiosity. “The one you are holding holds that current distinction, 1877.”

Stacie looked back at the book as she flipped a few pages. “ _Progressive Practical Arithmetic – Theory of Numbers, in Connection with Concise Analytic and Synthetic Methods of Solutions_. Isn’t that a mouthful?”

“Flip to the section right after fractions, page 112, I believe.”

“Promiscuous examples?” Stacie got the chuckles. “Seriously?” She read through some of the problems on the brittle and yellowing page. She gently closed the book and placed the edition back in its place. “That’s… hell, I don’t know what that is. Humorous for certain. Promiscuous fractions.”

Aubrey got up and slipped her arms around Stacie’s waist, laying her head between the brunette’s shoulders, kissing one of the woman’s protruding blades. “Stacie,” she whispered. With the old book safely shelved, the other woman turned around to face the blonde. “You aren’t really interested in my books, are you?”

“Actually, Aubrey, I am. I’m interested in you. All of you. I don’t,” she paused as she chose her words carefully, “I don’t want to mess things up. Go too fast, you know? I like you, Aubrey. A lot.”

“Look, Stacie. I know what I’ve told you about my past and how I was raised. And I also know my reaction last night bothered you.” She placed a palm against Stacie’s cheek. “I... I can’t stop thinking about you,” she finally admitted. Aubrey led Stacie back to the couch. “I don’t know what all this means. But I’d like to see where this goes. If you want to, that is,” she quickly added before lowering her eyes to the carpet.

Stacie squeezed the blonde’s hand. “I’d like that Aubrey. But only if you are sure.” She placed two fingers beneath Aubrey’s chin and lifted her head so she could see the blonde's eyes trying to keep her facial expression calm and comforting.

“I’m sure,” she said quietly.

“I don’t deny my attraction to you, Aubrey. I do want to respect you and will follow your lead - whatever pace you set.”

“I trust you, Stace.”

After visiting a bit longer, Stacie decided the time had come for her to go home. Aubrey held her hand for a bit longer than necessary, not wanting to let go. “Come over for lunch tomorrow?” Aubrey’s eyes shined hopeful. “Cooking for two is much more fun than for one.”

“I can do that,” Stacie chuckled. She slipped her hand behind Aubrey’s neck and gave her a soft kiss. “Tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you call me a geek if I told you I collect antique math books?


	6. Routines

Over the next few weeks, Aubrey and Stacie settled into somewhat of a routine. If Aubrey cooked for herself the night before and brought leftovers, Stacie inevitably ‘stole’ them. Aubrey began to tease Stacie that she only did that so she could bring Aubrey lunch the next day. Stacie reassured her that Aubrey’s leftovers were well worth the ‘trouble’ of making her personal deliveries.

These habits bled into the weekend, as well. The pair gravitated towards each other, spending as much time as possible in the other’s company without being co-dependent on each other. Their physical relationship never progressed past heavy make-out sessions with Stacie disengaging before things got out of control.

One Friday evening after work, Aubrey was curled up next to Stacie on the couch reading a book while Stacie was aimlessly flipping through television channels. When Aubrey’s FaceTime ring started, she groaned. “I’m sorry, Stace. I need to answer this. It’s Chloe, and I’ve kinda been putting her off.” She pressed her lips against the brunette’s cheek as she got up to answer the call.

“Oh my god, she lives!” Chloe’s bright blue eyes accompanied her teasing grin. Aubrey knew she was in for some definite pestering about her lack of contact with her friend. “Where have you been, Bree? Even Beca has been asking about you.”

“Wait, hang on, Chloe.” Stacie was waving her arms, trying to get her attention. Aubrey muted the phone and covered the camera.

“You haven’t told Chloe about us?” Aubrey shook her head.

“Have you told Beca?” The blonde questioned. Stacie mouthed a quiet ‘no’ and held her hand out for the phone. Aubrey paused slightly before turning it over.

“Aubrey!!” After making sure the mute was disabled, Stacie grinned into the phone camera. She raised her hand and waved. “I’ll take full responsibility for Aubrey’s absence.”

“I KNEW IT,” Beca’s head popped into the screen next to Chloe’s. “You dirty dog, you.”

Aubrey sat back down on the couch so she could share the screen with Stacie. “I beg to differ. Stacie has been nothing but kind and respectful.”

Chloe and Beca started talking over each other before the redhead swatted her girlfriend’s head. “We certainly don’t need to get into this over the phone. But both of us need details!”

The four women decided on brunch the next morning so that Aubrey and Stacie could catch their friends up to speed on what was happening. After they disconnected, Aubrey seemed visibly relieved.

“I was worried about how to tell them. Or when.”

“Honestly, you don’t owe them an explanation, Aubrey.”

The blonde made it clear that this was something she wanted. “I miss hanging out with them, not that you aren’t enough…” Aubrey stopped and seemingly lost herself in thought. Finally, she spoke. “Stacie, what are we?”

“I’m not sure what you are asking.” The way she’d answered made Aubrey realize that Stacie was truly confused by her question.

“I hope I’ve made my feelings clear about wanting to move this relationship forward. I need to explore this,” she motioned to the space between them, “since I’ve maybe gotten over my hang-ups with being with a woman. Stacie nodded but didn’t interrupt Aubrey since she seemed to be serious in what she was saying. “But.” Stacie froze, afraid at what might come next. “I need something.”

When Aubrey didn’t continue for a few moments, Stacie began to come unnerved. “Yes? What do you need, Aubrey?” She prodded. “Whatever you need, let’s talk about it. You can trust me.”

“Exclusivity. I don’t think I can do this unless I know you aren’t seeing anyone else.”

Stacie gave an audible sigh of relief. “Babe, I haven’t as much as looked at another woman since the night I saw you at the bar.” She pulled Aubrey into her and kissed her softly. “You,” she whispered, “are the only woman I want.”

* * *

Brunch the next morning went well. Neither Chloe nor Beca were upset that they’d been kept in the dark. Frankly, they were both tickled that Stacie and Aubrey were getting along so well. “But you can’t be _those_ people who get into a new relationship and forget about your friends. We miss you guys.”

Stacie and Aubrey both assured Chloe that they would do a better job of maintaining their friendships.

“Good,” Beca said. “Then I proclaim tonight is club night! Go out with us?” She glanced over to Chloe, hoping she hadn’t pushed Aubrey too far.

Stacie was holding Aubrey’s hand beneath the table and felt her tense up at the suggestion of going to Beca and Chloe’s favorite lesbian bar. She turned to her new girlfriend and whispered, “Aubrey, I promise, it will be okay. I’ll be by your side every minute.”

Aubrey looked as though she wanted to protest, but as Stacie caressed the back of her hand, Aubrey relaxed as she relented. Nodding, she agreed to go out – a lot because she missed hanging out with Beca and Chloe, but mostly because Stacie made her feel safe and protected.

* * *

When Chloe and Beca arrived at the bar, they joined Stacie and Aubrey who were already on the dance floor enjoying the extra space before the crowds of people arrived. As the four danced together, Beca carefully watched Aubrey and Stacie seeing how well they seemed to connect – to fit together.

As the music slowed, Beca and Stacie headed to the bar while Chloe and Aubrey went to the restroom to freshen up. “Aubrey, you really like her!” Chloe’s trademark squeal showed her delight that her best friend had finally found someone worth dating, someone they could all trust.

Aubrey nodded her head, a mile-wide smile plastered on her face.

“So spill. How is it? Being with a woman?”

The blonde refused to be baited and continued to freshen up her lipstick. “We’ve only kissed,” she announced. “Stacie is quite respectful.”

“She looks at you like she’s going to eat you up at any minute.”

Aubrey laughed and felt a heat flash through her. “Don’t tell her, but I’m about ready for her to do just that.”

* * *

When the blonde and redhead found Beca at the bar, several drinks awaited them. Beca pointed to a light red cocktail that waited for Aubrey. When Stacie appeared on the other side of her, she slyly pushed the glass back towards Stacie who was caught off guard.

“I’m flattered,” Aubrey said. “But I’m…” Stacie froze. “… taken.”

Fire flashed in Stacie’s eyes as she turned Aubrey around and pressed her against the bar. Her hands were on Aubrey’s shoulders before she roughly ran them down the blonde’s sides to her waist to pull their bodies together. Their eyes locked before Stacie’s eyes drifted closed, and she traced Aubrey’s lips with her tongue before slipping between her lips, creating an urgency, a need of being wanted.

Aubrey grasped the front of Stacie’s shirt, trying to pull herself up as if she could get deeper into her mouth. They had already forgotten where they were until someone standing quite close cleared her throat. “Ummm, you two might want to get a room.” Beca’s eyes sparkled at her teasing comment.

Stacie looked at Aubrey, who face flushed with excitement. She wrapped her arms around the blonde, nuzzled her jaw, and whispered in her ear. When Aubrey nodded her head, Stacie looked at their friends. “I think we are going to make a night of it.”

* * *

Stacie had parked her car at Aubrey’s, so that’s where the Uber took them. The brunette walked Aubrey to the door, and when the blonde went in, she turned and waited for Stacie to follow. When she saw the brunette standing at the bottom of the stairs, she motioned for her to come up. Stacie shook her head as Aubrey came back down the steps.

“I probably need to head home, Bree. I’m a little worked up.”

Aubrey went back to Stacie and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. (Woah! Stacie? Girlfriend?) Aubrey’s thoughts churned in her mind. (I have never been with a woman before. Yet I know what her desire feels like when she kisses me, how she touches me. I want her, but I don't know what to expect. I'm okay with just kissing…touching…for now.)

Funny thing, despite Aubrey’s inexperience, Stacie seemed more cautious than her. “Come inside? Just lay with me? I want to feel you next to me. We don’t have to do anything.” The brunette’s nod was barely perceptible. She’d never before spent the night with Aubrey, so this would be a new challenge.

Once inside, Aubrey insisted Stacie get comfortable and gave her a t-shirt and pair of shorts to change into. As the brunette emerged from the bathroom, she saw Aubrey innocently waiting for her; covers pulled down to her waist. Stacie paused the sight of the blonde soaking in and overtaking her emotions. She settled down next to Aubrey, who immediately threw her leg over Stacie’s.

Stacie responded by slowly kissing Aubrey, using her hands to explore her body. As they explored each other with their hands and lips, Stacie ran her palms across Aubrey’s body, feeling her shapes and curves. Lips on lips, lips on necks, lips on ears, hands everywhere.

Despite her promise to let Aubrey control the pace, Stacie couldn’t help but slide a leg between the blonde’s and gently press, eliciting a moan from Aubrey whose eyes were tightly closed. Stacie watched the reaction on Aubrey’s face as she lifted her thighs slowly upwards. Slow yet fervent movements expressed the underlying desire.

“Touch me,” Aubrey breathed. “Just a touch.” The blonde lowered her hips back to the bed and laid completely still, silent. Stacie slipped her hand into Aubrey’s pajamas, and the moment she felt the soft wetness between her legs, Stacie groaned. _What have I been missing out on?_ The brunette’s mind was spinning as the soft, tender moistness created instant addiction. Stacie could not stop. _There’s no way this could be ‘just a touch.’_

Stacie’s mind blurred with the amazement of Aubrey’s body next to hers. She was thoroughly entranced with the other woman. The reality was of Aubrey kissing her solidly with want, desire, lust. The women let their hands explore each other’s bodies.

When Stacie reached up to cup Aubrey’s breasts in her palms, the blonde gasped and arched her back, pressing further into Stacie. Aubrey reached down and tugged slightly at her own sleep top, obviously wanting it off. As Stacie pulled it over her head, Aubrey silently asked permission to do the same with Stacie’s – consent that was quickly granted.

Now that both their torsos were bare, Stacie lowered her skin to Aubrey’s whose first reaction was to gulp in a breath of air. Stacie dipped her head and slowly ran a moist tongue across each of Aubrey’s nipples. She watched as the blonde struggled with the decision of where to touch her. Stacie gently took one of Aubrey’s hands and placed it on her breast, squeezing over it to let Aubrey know the touch was okay.

After the initial contact, Aubrey seemed to let herself appreciate the feelings of not only being touched but touching as well. “Aubrey,” Stacie managed to gasp. “Are you sure about this? We can stop.”

The blonde’s response was to bend her knee and press her leg into Stacie’s center. Stacie never thought Aubrey would be this aggressive their first time and ached to touch the blonde. _Please don’t stop me. Don’t stop me._ Surely Stacie’s mind was strong enough to will Aubrey’s actions.

The whimpers coming from Aubrey were enough for Stacie to know that Aubrey wasn’t going to ask to stop.

* * *

Sweat dripped from Stacie’s body as she lay with her head on Aubrey’s inner thigh, catching her breath before she moved back up to hold her Aubrey. She couldn’t recall a time she’d be utterly exhausted after making love to a partner. Despite her feebleness, Stacie couldn’t stop touching the blonde, running her fingertips across her legs before reaching up to grasp Aubrey’s hand.

Stacie felt the other woman’s breath hitch before she heard the muffled sob. On instant alert, Stacie scrambled up the bed and discovered Aubrey fighting tears. “Baby, Aubrey, what’s wrong, hon?” She gathered the blonde in her arms. As Aubrey curled into her, her sobs became stronger.

“Bree, hey, talk to me. Are you okay?” Stacie was terrified that the sex, as incredible as it was, had pushed Aubrey over her limit. “Shhhh, don’t cry, talk to me." The longer Aubrey cried, the more worried Stacie became.

Finally, Aubrey gathered her wits about her enough to stop sobbing and to talk. “All my life, Stacie, whenever I’ve gotten to the point in a relationship that I’ve felt it necessary to have sex, all it ever felt like was a chore, an essential part of a ‘healthy relationship.’” Aubrey used finger quotations to emphasize her point.

Stacie started to say something but was cut off by Aubrey. “I don’t know if this is how it’s always going to be, but this feels so right. Thank you, Stacie.”

The brunette sighed a breath of relief. “You had me scared there for a minute, Aubrey. I thought you were regretting this.” Stacie pulled her in tightly.

Aubrey leaned up and kissed Stacie’s jawline as she shook her head. “I would never regret this in a million years.”

* * *

When Stacie woke up the next morning, she couldn’t keep her hands to herself despite knowing Aubrey probably needed sleep. She ran her fingertips lightly over every bit of exposed skin she could reach until her girlfriend began to stir with a little moan.

“Mmmm,” Aubrey purred when she realized she wasn’t alone. “You stayed.”

“Did you expect any less?” Stacie turned Aubrey’s head so she could properly kiss her. “Good morning.”

“Yes, yes it is a good morning. I’m glad you are still here.” Aubrey snuggled into Stacie.

“Me, too.” The comfortable silence let them both get lost in their thoughts. “Bree?”

“Hmmm?”

“Are you okay?” Stacie’s concern was still evident that Aubrey might be regretting the activities of the previous evening.

“I think so.” Then Aubrey became nervous. “Ummm, are you okay?”

“I’m perfect, Bree, just perfect.”

Thankfully, it was Sunday since the couple didn’t get much sleep the night before. Aubrey somehow convinced Stacie to go back to sleep while she went and made breakfast.

* * *

After Stacie ate, then headed home, the first thing Aubrey did was call Chloe. “Aubrey! Well, didn’t you rush off last night? Hope you two had fun.”

“Is Beca around?”

“No, does she need to be?”

“No! I need… I just need to process. Can you come over?”

“I don’t see why not. I’ll be there in a bit.”

While she waited for Chloe, Aubrey paced her living room. She wasn’t nervous – or ashamed – she didn’t know exactly how she was feeling. And that bothered her. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long before her best friend was they, and they were relaxing in the living room with a glass of wine each.

“Aubrey, are you okay?” Chloe had always been able to read Aubrey quite well, and despite Aubrey saying nothing was wrong, she knew something was up with her friend.

“I normally wouldn’t do this, and don’t you dare breathe a word of it to Beca. Please?” Chloe promised she wouldn’t. “Stacie and I finally slept together last night.” Chloe gasped as she clapped excitedly.

“Are you okay with it?”

Aubrey fell back into the cushions. “Honestly, I’m more than okay with it. I wanted to talk to you, though.”

“How was it? I mean, I’m not asking you to kiss and tell, but – yeah, well, I guess I am.”

Aubrey laughed. “I can say one thing for sure; it was life-altering. When she began to touch me, I distinctly remember thinking holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. She’s so soft; this feels so soft. Chloe, making love to Stacie felt… right.” They talked a bit about Aubrey’s other sexual experiences. “I mean, I’ve orgasmed before – mostly with myself, of course. But Stacie was amazing. Apparently, it’s not normal to feel repulsed by sex.”

“No, Aubrey,” Chloe chuckled. “No, it’s not.”


	7. Time Well Spent

Aubrey was surprised at how easily she found herself falling into a relationship with a woman. She had always believed that she would never be in such a situation, yet now she couldn’t imagine her life without Stacie. The longer she dated Stacie, the more attached she became.

Despite the intense early clashes, the couple’s personalities seemed to mesh perfectly. Of course, Stacie was no longer going out of her way to irritate the blonde, and Aubrey was much more tolerable to the brunette’s teasing nature. Aubrey enjoyed cooking for Stacie, while Stacie prided herself in finding varied and unique places for take-out and going out to eat that were right up the blonde’s alley.

The couple spent many quiet evenings together. Aubrey’s favorite way to spend that time was leaning up against Stacie with her feet on the couch with Stacie’s arm draped around her shoulders. Another habit the pair had fallen into during their time together was poetry. Aubrey had purchased a book of poems by various authors, and they took turns reading to each other. When one would recite a poem to the other, the reader would place her initials and the date next to the title to chronicle their journey through romance.

Stacie flipped through the book and found the selection she wanted and began to read.

_“WHEN YOU COME” BY MAYA ANGELOU_

_When you come to me, unbidden,  
_ _Beckoning me  
_ _To long-ago rooms,  
_ _Where memories lie.  
_

 _Offering me, as to a child, an attic,  
_ _Gatherings of days too few.  
_ _Baubles of stolen kisses.  
_ _Trinkets of borrowed loves.  
_ _Trunks of secret words,_

_I CRY._

After a lengthy silence, Aubrey nuzzled her face into Stacie’s soft chest as her girlfriend clicked the pen’s point out and marked her initials with the date next to the title. The blonde slipped her hand up Stacie’s chest to the back of her neck and pulled down slightly until Stacie’s lips met hers.

“That’s my favorite one so far, Stace,” she whispered as she ran her mouth across her girlfriend’s jaw and lips. The brunette drew in a tight breath as she reveled in the affections Aubrey gave her.

“You’re **my** favorite, babe.”

* * *

Stacie decided to change things up and invite Aubrey over for a home-cooked meal at her place. Typically when the couple was at Stacie’s, they were either sharing take-out or getting ready to go out. What Aubrey didn’t know was Stacie was terrified of cooking for her.

The brunette was a horrible cook but felt she should at least try. That Aubrey was such an excellent cook intimidated her, but Stacie wanted to try to return the favor. She’d been at Aubrey’s when she made them dinner and was in awe when she watched her create her amazing meals by scratch, never even as much as referring to a recipe.

Stacie had her ingredients spread over the kitchen island, trying desperately to maintain her mise en place. The recipe card that had precise details emphasized the importance of staying organized. The harder Stacie tried, the more disorganized she seemed to get. “This shouldn’t be so damned hard, damn it. I organize details for a living!” Stacie was utterly frustrated.

She’d watched YouTube to learn how to cut vegetables on the bias and how to peel garlic, too, since her earlier attempts were not so successful. Otherwise, most of the instructions on the recipe card seemed self-explanatory. Tonight’s dinner was going to be _Sweet Chili-Glazed Chicken with Zesty Carrots and Scallion Rice_. Or at least that’s what she hoped they were having.

Beca had promised the pre-boxed meal kits she and Chloe had recently started trying were simple enough and gave her one of the boxes so she could attempt to make dinner for Aubrey. Stacie only hoped her friend was telling the truth because her cooking skills were about non-existent.

About the time Stacie put the chicken in the pan to cook, she heard a knock at the door. “Fuck!” She glanced at the clock and realized Aubrey was twenty minutes early. Of course she was; it was Aubrey. If Aubrey weren’t this early, she’d feel late. While Stacie was afraid to leave the chicken unattended for more than an instant, she raced to the door, unlocked it, and ran back to the stovetop. “Come in,” she shouted.

Aubrey laughed as she let herself in and closed the door behind her. “Well, hi to you, too.”

“Ummm, you’re early.” Stacie nervously looked around and saw the meal box packing strewn about her kitchen as well as the recipe card and other evidence of her “cheat cooking” lying around. Stacie set the chicken aside to rest while she mixed the sweet chili glaze then pulled the roasted carrots from the oven.

Ignoring the kitchen mess, Aubrey uncorked the wine she’d brought and poured them both a glass. “This smells amazing.”

With a nervous chuckle, Stacie drained her first glass of wine. Luckily, she’d preset the table, so all that was left was portioning out the food to the two plates. She guided Aubrey to the table, snagging the wine bottle on her way to sitting down. Stacie carefully watched until Aubrey took her first few bites. The blonde gave a content sigh as she dug into her plate.

“I mean it when I say this is fabulous, babe. Why haven’t you ever cooked for me before?” Stacie didn’t respond, acting like she was concentrating on her food.

Finally, she said, “thanks, Bree. I’m glad you like it.”

“And all this time, I thought you didn’t know how to cook. We are definitely eating over here more often,” Aubrey announced. Those words struck fear into Stacie as she thought how she’d struggle to keep up the charade.

After they finished eating, both women cleared the table. Stacie tried to convince Aubrey to have a seat in the living room, but her girlfriend insisted on helping clean up. “You cooked, Stacie. It’s only fair that I help clean up.”

Luckily, the meal prep box had almost perfectly portioned the ingredients, and Stacie could simply put the empty ramekins into the dishwasher. She turned around and saw Aubrey pick up the recipe card and box with all the ice packs which had kept the ingredients fresh.

Confused, Aubrey looked at Stacie and asked, “what’s this?”

Ashamed of being busted, Stacie hung her head. “I can’t cook, Aubrey. I’ve never been able to. But your meals are always so piquant. I guess I wanted to try my hand at it, impress you, maybe?”

As Aubrey examined the recipe card, Stacie’s nerves ramped up. “This?” She waved the card. “What you cooked tonight? Came from a meal kit?”

Stacie shuffled her feet and nodded. “I didn’t mean to deceive you, babe. I wanted you to be proud of me.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “God, I can’t cook.”

“Oh, Stacie, you are so adorable.” Aubrey was laughing. “First of all, the dinner was perfect. Secondly, I can’t believe you went to all this trouble.” She went over to Stacie and kissed her gently. “This means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. I love you, Stacie Conrad.” (What did she just say?)

Stacie’s eyes whipped around to meet Aubrey’s face. After swallowing in an attempt to catch her breath, Stacie waited for Aubrey to say something else, to take back what she had just said. When that didn’t happen, Stacie put her hands on either side of Aubrey’s face and leaned her forehead against Aubrey’s. “In that case, I love you, too, Aubrey Posen.”

* * *

When Stacie announced she had to go to Los Angeles for a work conference, Aubrey felt her heart twinge a bit. Her girlfriend’s trip would be for the better part of a week, which seemed like an eternity. While Aubrey knew her feelings were selfish, she didn’t want to be without Stacie for that long. While they didn’t see each other every day, knowing Stacie was always nearby comforted Aubrey.

The blonde went over to Stacie’s place while she finished packing so she could say her final goodbyes before Stacie left for her flight. She picked up a flyer lying on top of Stacie’s laptop bag.

“ _Juxtaposing New With Repurposed: The Platform Complex_ ,” Aubrey read. After further examination, she realized the photos on the flyer showed a long-forgotten used-car dealership in a semi-industrial space. The other pictures showed its potential for transformation.

The mock-up showed the entire area with shops and restaurants – the bays of the old repair shop had glass storefronts glittering in place of its former roll-up bay doors. The nostalgia remained as the original car dealer sign and pole remained, but everything else had been repurposed into a fresh, modern take on an area designated for revitalization.

“Are these the type of seminars you are going to be attending?”

“Something like that.” Stacie grinned.

Aubrey flipped the flyer over and read the Learning Objectives for the session. Her eyes froze when she saw the presenter information printed at the bottom. “Stacie?” She stabbed her finger down on the paper. “Is this you?”

“Yeah,” Stacie admitted sheepishly. “They barely let **me** in – I doubt there’s room for more than one Stacie Conrad.”

Aubrey lept up and wrapped her arms around the brunette before looking at the flyer again. “This looks amazing. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were presenting.”

“It’s going to be totally boring, and I didn’t tell you because I’m nervous as hell. Architecture is still a male-dominated field, and women have to fight for every inch we gain. The thought of speaking in front of all these people makes me nervous.”

“I’m keeping this!” Aubrey folded the flyer at stuck it in her pocket. “You never cease to amaze me, Stacie Conrad. I love you!”

* * *

The next day when Aubrey showed up to work, she found a present sitting on her desk. The wrapping paper was emerald green and sparkled just so in the light. When she lifted the lid, a card was the first thing she saw.

 _Dear Aubrey,  
_ _I’m going to miss you something terrible and am regretting not asking you to come with me. Then again, this way, you won’t be able to see my poor presentation skills! Regardless, when I found this, I immediately thought of you.  
_ _  
Love,  
_ _Stacie_

Aubrey gently lifted the soft tissue paper and found an old book nestled in the box. Her eyes began to tear up even before she lifted it out. The title on the cover was _Introduction to the National Arithmetic on the Inductive System_.

When she checked the copyright, she immediately knew that Stacie hadn’t “just found” the book. The copyright was 1855, a full twenty-two years older than her oldest book. How could something as simple as a book mean so much? Only Stacie could understand how special that was.

* * *

That night, the couple had planned to FaceTime each other. The moment the connection went through, Stacie saw how Aubrey was smiling at her.

“Hi, babe. Thank you so much for the book. It’s perfect.”

Stacie smiled back. “You’re welcome. I thought it might ease the suck of the distance a bit.” Aubrey chuckled.

“You know, it’s poetry night. Do you mind if I read to you?” Aubrey made herself comfortable on the couch and made sure she held the phone where Stacie could still see her while she read.

_“UNTITLED” by Christopher Poindexter_

_Whenever I am away from you,  
_ _The distance between us  
_ _a burdensome thing,_

 _I always think of you in colors,  
_ _the smell of coffee as you  
_ _so proudly make it for me,  
_ _the perfect sunlight spilling  
_ _in through the window.  
_

 _I miss you even when you  
_ _are beside me.  
_

 _I dream of your body  
_ _even when you are sleeping  
_ _in my arms.  
_

 _The words I love you  
_ _could never be enough.  
_

_I suppose we’ll have to invent new ones._

When Aubrey looked up from the poetry book, Stacie wasn’t visible on the screen. “Stacie?” All she could hear was some shuffling and then sniffles. When Stacie came back to the camera, her bright red-rimmed eyes showed she’d been crying.

Stacie dabbed her eyes with a tissue, yet neither woman spoke. Each time Stacie tried, the tears began to fall again. Her crying wasn’t the sobbing type, more like an overwhelmed type.

Any conversation they tried to pick up pretty much fell flat after such an emotional poetry selection from Aubrey. Finally, they agreed to call it a night, but only after Aubrey made Stacie promise to call her after she’d dressed for her presentation.

* * *

Aubrey had seen her girlfriend dressed up before but had also seen the suit Stacie had packed and was looking forward to seeing it on the woman.

“Let me see you.” Aubrey held her breath as Stacie adjusted her phone so Aubrey could see her from the waist up. The brunette had selected a blue and white shimmery pinstriped shirt beneath a deep blue jacket over pants that matched the color of the jacket perfectly. “Okay, and the shoes?”

Stacie chuckled as she pointed the phone downward. Her pants fell to the top of her shoes, which were again dark blue, almost black. The heel put her at nearly 5’ 10”, enough to intimidate most any man.

“You look nice, hon.”

Stacie pushed out a breath. “Thanks.” She was still nervous about the seminar she was about to present but knew she could fight her way through it.

What Stacie didn’t know was that Aubrey had called her from Los Angeles. Once she learned her girlfriend was presenting, she wouldn’t have missed the lecture for anything. As soon as Stacie had left for the airport the previous day, Aubrey contacted the architecture company to get details on the conference. One of Stacie’s colleagues’ kid had gotten sick and wasn’t able to go, so Stacie’s boss put the now extra pass in Aubrey’s name. She made a last-minute flight reservation and was excited to be on her way to watch Stacie’s seminar.

* * *

Aubrey raptly listened as Stacie talked design elements that brought in the past to blend with the future. Pre-existing murals would be blended into the design to maintain the flavor of the area and honor the past. She also discussed adding texture, depth, and color the various buildings with a variety of materials such as concrete, rusted steel, and charred wood; and incorporating design to ensure connection by people across industries.

Once the seminar was over, Aubrey watched as people approached Stacie and excitedly talked to her about her presentation. Relief had set in for the brunette now that the talk was over, and she looked much more relaxed. Looking for a way to escape the crowd, Stacie scanned the room, hoping her colleague had been able to attend after all.

And then she saw Aubrey. Her girlfriend was wearing a tan shirt beneath a loose brown jacket with a matching short skirt. Her heels lengthened her calves, which made Stacie weak in the knees. To make matters worse, Aubrey simply stood there, smiling.

Stacie wasn’t sure her legs would function enough to close the space between them, but she made it. “What are you doing here?” She saw the conference badge hanging around her girlfriend’s neck. “Aubrey! This conference isn’t cheap. You paid for a badge?”

The blonde grinned. “Oh, this is Leo’s badge. When I told your boss I wanted to see your presentation, he transferred it to my name since Leo couldn’t come.”

* * *

That Aubrey had shown up in Los Angeles at the conference tickled Stacie to no end. She still had seminars to attend and couldn’t play hookey despite wanting to do so. Sometimes Aubrey went with her while others, the blonde wandered off on her own. She even found a few residential seminars that she went to without Stacie despite the brunette calling her a traitor for going ‘off the reservation’ by not sticking with commercial sessions.

Because she was presenting, Stacie’s company had put her up in the host hotel, both convenient to the conference and high class as well. Stacie took advantage of room service over the conference buffets so she and Aubrey could lounge around together during their off time.

“I still can’t believe you are here.” Stacie bounced her way over to Aubrey, whose tall body stretched out on the far side of the bed. “Then again, I guess I’m glad I didn’t know ahead of time. I was nervous enough as it was.”

“Bingo.” Aubrey put her finger on her nose. “Seriously, Stacie. You did a great job. I’m proud of you.” Aubrey snagged a small bar of mint chocolate that was on the breakfast tray the room service had brought up and popped it in her mouth. She then rolled over and reached for the bound leather book Stacie had next to her bed. She raised her eyebrows questioningly as if asking permission.

Stacie thought about protesting but allowed her girlfriend to grab her sketchbook but nodded anyway. When she realized nobody had seen these private sketches, her nerves prickled a bit. She scooted up to where she was sitting next to Aubrey.

“Is this an old barn?” Aubrey tapped the first drawing with her finger. Stacie nodded. As the blonde looked at the facing second page, she asked. “And this?”

“The same barn. It was one of my favorite buildings on my granddad’s farm. When I was growing up, I always dreamed that I’d live there someday. I was a young architect in the making even then. The second picture is how I saw it after a redesign.”

Stacie snuggled into Aubrey and motioned for her to turn the page. They went through all the drawings in her journal with Aubrey asking questions and learning more about her girlfriend’s life.

“I have other sketchbooks. While this one has some of my earliest drawings, it does still have empty pages I use periodically.” When Aubrey asked how she decided what sketches would go in that particular journal, Stacie replied, “these are my favorite, the special ones.”

When Aubrey flipped to the last few pages, she was stunned to see that the final drawings were not buildings. She studied the first portrait drawn with colored pencils which depicted a woman. The blonde bore a striking resemblance to Aubrey as she sat in Lava Java with her cup of tea and a muffin. In the sketch, Stacie had given Aubrey tortoiseshell glasses and had her reading a book.

No words were spoken as the pair moved to the next picture - a black and white pencil sketch of the same woman lying on her stomach with a sheet messily draped over her naked body. The woman had flowing hair spread out on the mattress and pulled to one side. The woman had a tiny hummingbird tattoo beneath her left ear.

Aubrey looked over to a blushing Stacie. “I didn’t know you drew portraits.” Aubrey’s voice was quiet as she looked at the last few pictures.

“I usually don’t. But like I said, this book is reserved for my favorite sketches – the most special ones.”


	8. Is this the end? Or just the beginning?

After the couple returned from the architecture conference, they both got buried with work that had piled up in their absence. Aubrey admitted that any amount of playing catch-up was worth surprising Stacie at her seminar. Not only had she been amazed at her girlfriend’s talents, but she’d also gained a new appreciation for what Stacie did in her work.

Some of the seminars she’d attended without Stacie had given Aubrey a few ideas of her own. One evening when Stacie was working late, Chloe and Beca met Aubrey for dinner. The blonde was reasonably confident of her plans but wanted to bounce the ideas off her friends to make sure she was making wise choices.

After Aubrey shared her ideas, Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously? I mean not that I don’t believe you, but are you the same Aubrey Posen I knew from before?” Beca elbowed her girlfriend. “I mean, I love your ideas. I just want to make certain you are **sure**.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Aubrey turned to Beca. “She’s your best friend. What are your thoughts?”

“As long as you don’t rip her throat out since she seriously used to piss you off.” Beca laughed. “Seriously, though. I have never seen Stacie this happy before. My advice? If it makes you happy, go for it.”

“I trust both of you. I’m going to need your help with this. All of it.”

Chloe and Beca promised they’d do whatever it took to help Aubrey successfully achieve her plans while vowing to keep things a secret from Stacie until the time was right.

* * *

The real estate agent unlocked the door to the industrial loft. Stacie’s boss was trying to convince her to take a residential redesign as a favor to a friend, even though he wouldn’t say who the friend was. Stacie had only ever worked on commercial projects and wasn’t happy about the situation.

Today’s meeting was for the architect to get measurements, take pictures, and meet the client. Hopefully, she could get out of the project by pawning it off on one of her residential colleagues who owed her a favor. Perhaps after she got an idea of the scope of the project and had it partially laid out, getting someone else to take the job would be a cinch.

The client had messaged the real estate agent that they’d be running a wee bit late and asked if the agent would show the architect around the building. The project encompassed all of the three-story warehouse. The end goal of the project would be to convert the warehouse into a single-family dwelling.

The real estate agent gave Stacie some ideas as they walked through. Since the client seemingly had no respect for her time, Stacie got some of her tasks done while she was walking around. She took measurements, snapped pictures, and made notes during the walkthrough.

The kitchen and entertaining space would be on the first floor. That area also led out to an enclosed courtyard. Two bedrooms with ensuites would be on the second floor, along with a more private living room. A massive master suite and a work zone would split the third floor.

For being “just a real estate agent,” the woman seemed to know a lot about the client’s project. Stacie had to admit that the job would be exciting. If she did residential, that is.

“Well, do you know when your client is going to show up?” Stacie couldn’t help to be huffy since she didn’t want to be there in the first place. “I have the measurements I need, and you’ve given me an excellent overview of the project. But unless I can talk to the client, I honestly can’t say I’ll even consider the venture.”

The real estate agent promised the client was on the way. Then she slipped downstairs to make some phone calls, which irritated Stacie because she had her own phone calls to make and other work to do.

Finally, the noises of the freight elevator signaled the arrival of someone. “Hopefully, this is the client,” Stacie muttered under her breath. She wanted nothing more than to leave and stomp back to her boss to demand he reassign this project.

The wooden doors rattled as they slid open, and Stacie heard the tap tap tap of heels against the warehouse floor. The architect firmly crossed her arms, perturbed because the client wasn’t on time, refusing to respect the client by turning around. Instead, she stayed facing the window, looking out over the city.

“I don’t want to start this meeting off rudely, but I want you to know that my professional focus is solely on commercial properties. I’m only here as a favor to my boss.”

“I know.” The familiar voice caused Stacie to whip around, and she immediately forgot any irritation she felt at the sight of her girlfriend. “I asked your boss to send you.” Aubrey laughed at the confusion on Stacie’s face. “I know it’s not your granddad’s barn, but what do you think?” She motioned around the warehouse before walking over and pressing her lips to Stacie’s.

“Errr, it’s nice, well has the potential to be nice.”

The blonde stepped off an area of the third floor. “I thought this would make a good-sized master suite. And that,” she motioned to the other part of the third-floor, “has such excellent natural light that it’d make a great office.” Stacie still wasn’t catching on. “For an architect, maybe? Working from home?” Aubrey paused to let her words sink in.

“You bought this building, Aubrey?” The blonde nodded. “And you want me to redesign it? For you to live here?”

Aubrey shook her head before correcting Stacie. “For **us** to live here. It’s plenty big enough for entertaining, guests, and… there’s no building that has amazing natural light like this.”

The realization was sinking in for Stacie as she gave a sly smile. “Aubrey Posen, did you just ask me to move in with you?”

“Well,” Aubrey smirked, “not until construction is done, of course. Being here during construction wouldn’t be comfortable.” Stacie flung her arms around the blonde who backed up and held up an index finger. “But, there’s a condition. A pretty big one.” Stacie’s nerves immediately began to fire.

Aubrey went on to explain how coming out to her family was going to be traumatic enough for them as it was. “My dad is pretty old school. Finding out I’m gay is going to be a huge shocker. Maybe you moving in would be better if we weren’t living in sin.”

Stacie about choked as she laughed and turned around to gaze out the windows at the skyline. “Living in sin…” She abruptly stopped laughing and turned around to find Aubrey on one knee holding out a small jewelry box.

“Stacie Conrad, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: (I’m sure you’ve figured out the prompt by now, but it is so darned adorable that I have to include it.)
> 
> Person A is straight (or so they THINK), but her best friend and her girlfriend drag her out to a lesbian bar where she gets hit on by Person B. Person A is like “I’m flattered but straight” and then goes home and can’t stop thinking about Person B. And they run into each other again and IDK what happens after but they live happily ever after.


End file.
